Birth of a Warlord
by Lady MitsuNephty
Summary: After the 17 kingdoms of Ransei were united by the Warlords of Aurora … Kotaro, Warlord of Yaksha, disappeared. The kingdom has fallen into despair, and a new Warlord must be found immediately. Lady Aya believes she may have found a worthy replacement, though it would seem that the young woman she has found isn't a warrior. Will her love for her kingdom be enough to save it?
1. Murkrow in the Sky

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I don't know if anyone remembers me, seeing as I've been away for so long. From what my profile page tells me, the last time I published a chapter on any of my stories was January 3rd, 2015, over two years ago. That's inexcusable, and I'm beyond sorry for taking so long to return to my passion. Things haven't gone well in my life, and I intend to explain what kept me away for so long on my profile page. There's no eloquent way I can put this, but for the last few years, my life has been a hellish clusterfuck of problems. One of these was my computer getting a virus and crashing on me so hard I literally had to reboot the entire thing back to factory settings, meaning I lost _so much_ of my work. Literal _days_ of my life had just disappeared, particularly chapters for stories that I had put a lot of effort into. It was incredibly demoralizing, and was a major contributing factor to me taking a long break. Fortunately, I had my important stuff backed up, but it was still a painful reality that my entire life was on that computer, and so much was taken from me. As for the rest, I'll explain later, because there is _A LOT_ that needs to be said.

I do intend to return to my existing Pokémon Conquest fics, the most important being the Christmas fic, and Tales of Ransei, but those are now on official hiatus for the time being. I intend to do some editing to Mistletoe and Secret Santas, mostly for grammatical errors, and also because my backstories and headcanons for some characters have ever so slightly changed. The biggest being my OC. Originally, I had two story ideas for her, but one of those has been scrapped completely, and as for the other, well, you're about to read it, actually.

As of today, Pokémon Conquest is officially five years old. It's been my goal for some time to do something special for the five year anniversary of my favorite Pokémon Game of all time. The other option was to write my own take on the Legend of Ransei with my interpretation of the hero character(s), but since everybody does that, I decided to go for something a bit different. A few months ago, I reached an epiphany with this story idea where everything clicked together, and I feel confident enough to give this fic the justice it deserves.

Obviously, this story does take inspiration from my actual life, particularly the struggles I've had for the past year and a half, but it should not be taken as an accurate representation of my life at present. As I said above, if you want to know my real story, go to my profile page after I've finished editing it within the next 12 hours or so (as of the time of publishing this, of course). Also, I don't doubt that I'm a bit rusty with my writing, so if you find something with the story that doesn't seem right, feel free to tell me so that I can correct it. I hope you enjoy the story. Enjoy the Birth of a Warlord!

* * *

He had come over last night. Her mother probably thought that she didn't know, but she did. They talked for hours, reminiscing about happier days. Their voices were alight with something close to happiness. Close, but neither of them was ever happy. Even when her mother's laughter reached the highest rafters of the manor, she knew that there was at least some sadness underneath it, and more than a bit of fear. If it had been genuine, the laughter would have lasted all night, and he might have stayed the whole night. She hoped to think he would stay longer. Forever was an impossible wish, but maybe a week or two? It was so nice to hear his voice again, speaking in a manner that she could delude herself into thinking was joyful.

But just as always, it never lasted.

The laughter turned to talking, then the atmosphere shifted. She could feel the air grow heavy in the house. Talking turned to debating, then arguing, then shouting, then screaming, then screeches she thought only Pokemon were capable of producing. A piece of furniture was sent flying, or maybe he punched a wall. Maybe her mother threw something. From up in her bedroom, she couldn't tell who had triggered whom this time. Regardless of who's fault it was, she couldn't take sides anymore. She had become apathetic to both of them.

She caught sight of something flying past her window. Even in the inky blackness of night, her eyes could see the radiant wings of a Murkrow plain as moonlight. Her head stopped pounding for a moment, and she smiled. They were so fascinating. So wild, so elegant. A nondescript melody resonated in her throat.

" _Murkrow, Murkrow._

 _Melt into the sky._

 _Embrace the night as you fly,_

 _Ever free._

 _Da na da da da._

 _Hmm, hmm, hmm._

 _No money can I pay_

 _Though a favor if I may_

 _Some feathers and a gust of wind_

 _Blah, blah, blah, rhymes with wind_

 _lend me your wings._

 _Never free. Never free."_

The quill that had been previously focused on drawing a crude illustration of a woman (or maybe a tree, she couldn't tell anymore) went up to the top right corner of her paper and wrote out the lyrics that were coherent. They were going to stay on there for about the next 30 years or so and amount to absolutely nothing, but she knew what would happen if she didn't write them down. She'd remember this crappy little idea about a month from now as the " _best idea ever"_ for a song, and not be able to remember just how terrible it actually was. Best to keep a reminder that she had no good ideas.

The slamming door downstairs caused her to flinch. It must have happened on a hundred different occasions now, but she never got used to it. She still tensed up at every loud noise, bracing for some impact that was never going to come. Her mother was ranting incoherent gibberish now. He must have left, then. She probably wasn't drunk. If she was, she'd be a lot more calm. Her ears began to ring again. Her right arm was twitching.

Screw this.

She was going to wait until tomorrow evening to sneak out of the house, but she was at her limit. She needed to get away now. Yaksha Castle was still abandoned; that wasn't changing any time soon. Assuming no ninjas had claimed it as territory recently, she'd sneak in and crash there for the night. She raced around her room, grabbing her emergency bag and filling it with what she needed. Books, paper, some money, her street clothes, quills, ink, face paint. She looked around the room for the last important item. If she was going out in public, she needed her mask. She found the black item hidden under a pile of laundry that she wasn't sure was dirty. She put it on, just in case someone noticed her on the streets as she made her way to the castle. It was probably unnecessary. The only people out would likely be robbers and gangs, and if one of them found her, well, it wasn't like anyone would care if she disappeared. That revelation should have hurt, but it just reinforced how numb she was.

Even though she had already made the choice to leave tonight, it still took her a good hour or so to work up the nerve to go through with it. She wasn't afraid of her mother catching her. She had been sneaking out for four years now, and that idiot woman hadn't caught her once. She had just as many reasons to be afraid of leaving her house as she did of staying there. There wasn't a single truly safe place for her in the world. No matter where she was, she would be risking her entire existence in one manner or another. Eventually, another Warlord would make their home in Yaksha's Castle, or maybe some gang would take it over, or a noble would buy it up. It was a refuge now, but for how long she didn't know. Best to cherish it while she could.

Since Kotaro had left, the ninjas had been running rampant throughout the kingdom alongside the criminals. In the capital, at least, their chaos was organized to some degree. There were many great Warriors of renown throughout Ransei's 17 kingdoms, but by her experience, you wouldn't find any quite so kind as ninjas, particularly the ninjas of Yaksha. They had taught her a few tricks to help her sneak away from home when she needed to. She had made good use of them. Within five minutes, she had made it out of the manor and was on her way up to the castle.

As she walked along the cobble road, she noticed a flock of Murkrow flying overhead. Among the trees, there were lights dancing in the dark, with a purple, smokey quality to them. Gastly, probably migrated down from Viperia. Now that was a rare sight, more-so than the Murkrow, who hated associating with people. Some Bisharp and Scraggy were running around in the bushes. She couldn't see them, but their cries were crystal clear to her. A chorus of howls were coming from deeper into the forest, sending a chill down her spine. Houndour were her favorites to hear at night. They filled her with an odd warmth and brought starlight to her eyes. The wind howled around her, and it beckoned her toward the castle.

This kingdom was so beautiful. There was nothing better than the music Yaksha produced in the dead of night.

~Q.N~

This was not a good time to be traveling through the kingdom of Yaksha on foot. Crime was plentiful throughout its cities, and even in its small farming villages. Robbers were abundant, vandals harassed innocent bystanders just for the fun of it. Ninjas did as they pleased without masters to guide their actions. Occasionally, a person would be found dead on the roads. This scenery was commonplace to warriors, who had experienced the destruction of life on the battlefield in recent times past. Of course, try as the Unifiers of Ransei might, they would never be able to end all the crime, the pain, the fear in the 17 kingdoms. Yet that hope was necessary if such a world of peace was ever to come about. Faith in the better, the beautiful, the good in the people. That faith also had to be reciprocated by the other warlords, who stood as equals, rather than mere advisers. It needed to be believed by the people as well. But any Warlord brave enough to travel on foot had not seen that hope, that better nature in the people of Yaksha. Even those too meek to resort to criminal activities had succumbed to fear and hatred. Many had left the kingdom, making haste towards more prosperous ones like Valora and Terrera. Leaving many once thriving farm villages desolate, now the stomping grounds of ghost and dark-type Pokemon. Those that stayed, most too proud to be scared from their life-long homes, were targeted by the vagrants. Aside from scoundrels, the ninjas had control over the kingdom still; but no Warlord to control their actions. Yaksha had become the prime location for underground ninja work, and a black market for thieves and assassins. No direction, no order.

This was chaos.

Ryo and Ryoko, Warlords of Aurora, were two of many Warlords that had chosen to make the long pilgrimage to Yaksha on foot. Their journey was made all the more significant by the distance between their kingdom and Yaksha, located on the other side of Ransei. It had taken them over a year to travel this same distance prior during their campaign against Nobunaga in the last days of the war. They had rushed from Aurora's capital to Yaksha's this time around in a matter of days. There were few kingdoms father away than Aurora, and all of their Warlords would likely take the blimps to Yaksha's capital, where an emergency Warlords' Conference would take place. But Ryo had wanted to see the kingdom with his own eyes, and the damage having no Warlord to lead had caused. His sister had agreed. They had stayed the previous night in Cragspur with Lord Ujiyasu, who now traveled down the streets of the final village before the capital with them. Like the young Warlords, he too gazed at the near abandoned towns and the sparse amount of people outside. On the outskirts of town, whole fields had been burned to the ground. The group of three observed the damage, the old Warlord of Cragspur with a glare of pity and disgust, and the twins of Aurora with sadness clouding their eyes.

They were lucky enough to not fall victim to robbers. But they were victimized. Many people recognized them on the journey, at least as Warlords. Some even knew that the twins were the Unifiers. They were met with jeers and glares, pleas, anger, spite. The were condemned for abandoning the people, they were heckled for their dreams of peace. People cried out to them for help. People threw trash and stones at them, demanding that they leave the kingdom. They were told to pay for their crimes against the kingdom, to fix their mistakes. Some demanded Kotaro's head. Ujiyasu had taken the hostility in stride, though he had come close to going after one of the more belligerent of the naysayers. Ryo sunk further into his self-loathing with each curse spat their way. What kept him from breaking down completely was Ryoko grabbing onto his hand. The unshed tears in her eyes had given him strength to keep moving forward. He could tell the hurt look in his eyes allowed her to do the same. They had always been each others' strength.

"This is terrible." Ryoko murmured, looking down at her companion, Espeon, noting the concern on her face as well. "I thought that it had been Nobunaga's war path through eastern Ransei that had caused this kingdom to suffer. It looks like it had just been Kotaro all along."

"It's our fault." Ryo lamented, "We gave the kingdom back to him without a second thought. We just abandoned the kingdom. We're no better than Kotaro."

Ujiyasu scoffed from next to him. "There was no way for any of us to know what that bag of wind would do." He assured the young man, "You two have had your heads in the right place from the start. I'd focus on resolving this kingdom's dilemma."

"That's what we're here to do." Ryoko nodded, giving her companions a determined smile. Ujiyasu nodded his approval at the girl's optimism. Ryo just looked forward, still pondering his role in all this. They had decided to return each of the kingdoms they had conquered in their campaign to their previous leaders. There would be no one more suited to watch over those 16 kingdoms than their original Warlords. Certainly not two kids who got through battle after battle on luck. Dumb luck, even. One kingdom was enough for them, and that was their home. In hindsight, it had been incredibly stupid and naive to think that each of the previous Warlords had the same loyalty to their kingdoms. When looking at and fighting Warlords like Lord Ujiyasu, Lady Nene and Lord Ieyasu, the thought of any Warlord with a lack of empathy for their people just didn't exist. Stupid.

He went inward for a while, lost further in his thoughts as they carried on. Lord Ujiyasu broke him out of it some time later with an offhanded remark, facing skyward.

"Well now, there's something you don't see everyday."

The twins followed his gaze, noticing jet black dots in the cloud-filled sky, crowing as they flew overhead. They were clearly flying Pokemon, but ones they had never seen before.

"What kind of Pokemon are those?" Ryoko asked the Cragspur Warlord as she attempted to get a better look at their hazy forms. "I've never seen anything like them before."

"They're Murkrow, a dark and flying-type Pokemon." he explained. "They make their nests very far into the forests of Yaksha, away from humans. I've only seen 'em once myself."

"Why would they be flying around here? There's nothing but empty fields and farmland for miles." Ryo asked. "And I thought that dark-types slept during the day."

"I couldn't hazard a guess. Dark-types aren't exactly my specialty, you know." From next to Ujiyasu, his partner Gigalith made a quiet grunting noise. "Maybe they've gotten a bit friendlier with people since I was last in Yaksha. Wouldn't be the first time I've seen something like that happen."

"I heard once that dark-type Pokemon don't form links easily with humans." Ryoko mentioned, "There's a lot of unique and powerful Pokemon in this kingdom, but many of them are too wild to ever form a link with a warrior."

"Lots of Pokemon can't be bonded with." Ryo commented. This was true for a lot of Pokemon. There were Pokemon like Miltank, Mudbray and Farfetch'd. They could be domesticated and raised for slaughter, but you would never find one linking with a warrior and used in battle. There was a plethora of water-types that had a similar fate, fished and eaten. Then there were Pokemon that just were too wild or too aloof to ever bond with. "Look at dragons. Only the greatest warriors are capable of bonding with them."

"You're not wrong." Ujiyasu said. Ryo couldn't tell which of them he was talking to then. Possibly both. "Pokemon are just like humans. We have many types ourselves, and we tend to reach out to those with qualities we desire and favor. I'll say this: there is a common line that goes through every warrior that has linked with dark Pokemon, at least by my experience."

"What's that?" Ryo queried.

"They're just as dark as their Pokemon."

The group of warriors stopped as two Murkrow swooped down and landed off to the side of their path. They began pecking at the ground, searching for seeds in the grass. One of them looked up and locked eyes with Ryo. He noticed his sister's Espeon retreat slightly behind her in his peripheral vision. Umbreon stayed still and alert next to him. He wasn't moving away, but not eager to make contact either. Ryo would have though being a dark type, Umbreon would have no qualms with approaching the other dark Pokemon. He just kept staring into the bird Pokemon's eyes. They were vacant and glossy. It was as though it had never seen a human before in its life. Ryo had talked with many different kinds of Pokemon before, but he'd never been regarded so hollowly by one. Even farm Pokemon gave more recognition than this. Even so, it kept staring. And the more it did, the more it seemed as though this black bird had him figured out. Then…

 _Are you lost?_

That wasn't Umbreon's voice, nor Espeon's.

"Never seen them get this close to people before." Ryo vaguely heard Ujiyasu say from next to him.

"Either of you find it creepy that they're just staring at us?" Ryoko asked. "I mean, they're really cool, but-"

She was interrupted as the one that had been eating raised its head and let out a squawk, raising up its wings. Its friend followed suit and repeated its gestures.

"Any idea what that's about?" Ujiyasu asked.

"I can't understand them." Ryoko said. "They're not being aggressive, but… I can't tell. What about you Ryo?"

"Umbree." Umbreon murmured.

"Do they like me?" Ryo asked, not sure if his partner was joking with him or not.

"Krow! Murkrow!"

"Bre."

"They think we're lost or something."

"You can understand them, then." His sister said with a smile. "That's cool, Ryo."

"Umbreon told me what they were saying. I'm not hearing anything." One Murkrow tilted its head to the side, then they both exchanged glances with each other. Turning their backs to the onlookers, they took off into the sky once again.

"I don't put much stock in omens, but I feel comfortable saying that was a good one." Ujiyasu spoke up.

"Yeah, I think so, too." Ryoko said with a smile.

"In that case, let's get a move on. We should be coming up on Yaksha City within the hour." The older Warlord said, he and Gigalith continuing on.

"Right." Ryoko and Espeon followed, and Ryo joined them shortly after.

 _Such a bright light. It's like a sun. How can he possibly be lost?_

Was that the Murkrow that had been talking to him after all? A Pokemon had never sounded like that to him before. And if they could somehow communicate with him, then why couldn't Ryoko understand them, too? Maybe he was just imagining things. It wouldn't be the first time his thoughts had wandered to strange places. He'd never thought of himself having a 'light as bright as the sun' before, but he had the sensation of being lost a lot. Uncertain and searching for answers to questions he wasn't even sure existed to begin with. This had been haunting him since he and Ryoko had inherited responsibility of Aurora from Lord Mushoku after his passing, and had returned with fervor when word of what happened with Kotaro had reached them in their kingdom.

He decided to put the odd event out of his mind for the time being. Now was the time to focus on the kingdom, and working to repair the damage that had been done to the people and Pokemon who called it their home. Those Murkrow only served to remind him of all the Pokemon in the kingdom that he and the other Warlords now had to work to protect.

The closer they got to Yaksha's capital city, they came across more and more people and Pokemon on the road. Not thieves or bandits, but actual people. They saw farmers, musicians, artists, warriors, workmen, merchants, and Pokemon of all different varieties. The passersby became a massive throng as Yaksha City came into sight. People were walking together, engaging in earnest conversation, laughing and singing. Some were more rude and impatient than others, yelling at people to make way for them and to stop crowding. On the very outskirts of the city, people had stopped on the side of the road and set up tents and mats, merchants selling their wares and artists painting or playing their music. If anyone recognized the Warlords, they certainly weren't acknowledging them, a stark contrast to the hostility they had been met with prior. Ryo assumed that people were simply in too much of a rush to be bothered with them. Though this did raise the question of what exactly these people were in a rush to get to. With the exception of some farmers that were grumbling about the traffic coming into the city, it didn't seem like any of these people were locals. In fact, an educated eye would be able to make out various attire worn only in certain kingdom, like the white robes traditionally worn by citizens of Illusio, or the muted violets and grays that Ina told him had been very popular in Valora recently. What could possibly bring all these people from such thriving kingdoms to one that was currently in a state of crisis? It was certainly a change in atmosphere to be sure. And once again, he couldn't help but notice a flock of Murkrow flying overhead.

As interesting as the last leg of their journey into Yaksha City had been, it was nothing compared to what awaited them in the city proper. Ryo remembered back to every other village and city they had passed through up to this point. The battered, vandalized buildings, the near empty streets, the anger and cursing. Yaksha City resembled nothing close to those melancholy visions of cities past. It more closely resembled the town squares of the most populated cities of Terrera and Valora on a busy day. All he could make out when he looked ahead was a sea of faces before him. The buildings were standing strong and sturdy with no signs of wear and tear to be seen. Merchants' shops were everywhere you looked, selling everything imaginable. Money was being passed around between them and their customers like sweets. Children ran around on the streets without any fear. There were warriors having friendly battles in the middle of the road while onlookers cheered and watched with excitement. Stranger still was the ninjas. There were so many ninjas out in plain daylight, lounging on top of roofs and against walls, mingling with people. And yes, there was no mistaking that they were ninjas. Black robes, masks obscuring their faces, dark and poison-type Pokemon close by.

He noticed two kids run up to a group of them that were hanging out outside of a restaurant. The kids asked if they were real ninjas, and if they would have a battle so they could see their Pokemon in action. The group laughed, and one of them, a younger man with a Croagunk, stood up and turned to a female ninja with a Scraggy, asking her to battle with him for the kids. She agreed, and the group set off with the kids to find an open area to battle. On the wall where the ninjas had previously been lounging, he noticed that there was some vandalizing done after all. The building had been covered in graffiti. Though it seemed different from the gang tags they had run into on other buildings before. He was able to read the kanji for 'believe', and behind it was a multitude of purple and blue flowers. A highly stylized illustration of a Magikarp was next to it, and above this entire art piece was an intricately-detailed Gyarados. Looking around at other buildings, they were graffitied similar; intricate paintings featuring Pokemon and brilliant scenes of nature, and messages that ranged from inspirational professions that 'nothing is impossible', to more comedic remarks stating 'do not graffiti this wall!' accompanied by a crude drawing of a face that was the epitome of 'meh.'

"What the heck is going on here?" Ryo pondered aloud, taking in his surroundings with awe.

"It doesn't look like Kotaro's absence really hurt this place." Ryoko commented. "In fact, it looks even better than when he was around."

Ujiyasu could be seen to have equal surprise, "I haven't seen this city so busy in over three decades." he remarked, looking around.

There was a resounding roar of oohs and aahs, and then thunderous applause off to their left as they were passing by two warriors having a battle. The warlords turned their heads to see a short girl whose face was obstructed by a Charizard mask with a Charmeleon as her partner facing off against a tall boy in all black and a Zweilous. The two appeared to be evenly matched, and neither looked ready to quit any time soon.

"Those two are amazing. This battle's lasted longer than any I've seen today!" They overheard a woman say.

"Let's wrap this battle up, already!" A warrior in the crowd shouted. "My Machamp and I are ready to take on the winner of this fight!" From next to him, his Machamp flexed his muscles in anticipation.

"Hey, do you hear that?" Ryoko said next to Ryo, drawing him away from the battle as it looked like the young man was gaining the upper hand over his petite opponent.

"What?" He asked, but didn't need an explanation as he caught what had grabbed his sister's attention. There was music. Upbeat, lively music that felt like it was coming from all over the city. And he could hear people singing as they walked along the street, as though they had all practiced this song 1,000 times before.

"What is going on with this kingdom?" he pondered as they kept walking towards Yaksha Castle, and just kept taking in the strange and almost inappropriately upbeat attitude of the city.

 _Though your fight is through and the battle has been won;_

 _The world still turns, and the story's never done;_

 _As the sun does set, and the day becomes the night;_

 _With the rising moon, a new hero is in sight!_

The Aurora Twins and Lord Ujiyasu were not the only Warlords that were taken aback by liveliness and bustle of the City as they arrived. Coming from Viperia was Lady Nene alongside her Crobat, accompanied by Ignis's Warlord, Hideyoshi, and his Infernape. They had arrived by blimp, and as they got off the docking station and looked around, they could find no words for what tremendous energy they were feeling from the city. Though Hideyoshi never found it hard to talk.

"Uh, Nene." He began, "I think we may have gotten on the wrong blimp."

 _So begins a new Legend of Ransei!_

 _So begins a new Legend of Ransei!_

"This city is positively thriving." Lady Ginchiyo remarked as she stood just outside Yaksha Castle, accompanied by Lord Motonari of Greenleaf and his Serperior, as well as her Luxio.

"Certainly not what you expect to see from a kingdom that is without a warlord to keep order." Motonari said, wearing a mysterious smile that told Ginchiyo he likely had a theory as to what was going on. She exhaled and turned to enter the castle gates.

"I swear, if this turns out to be some joke on Lord Ryo's part, I'll have his hide for having me leave Violight to come here." She declared as her Luxio followed her inside.

"At least you have Lord Muneshige to look after your castle for you." Motonari said with a brief chuckle. "I don't quite know how my generals will handle themselves in my absence."

"That doesn't help matters, Lord Motonari!" The electric Warlord shouted back to him. He only laughed and proceeded to follow her into Yaksha's castle to meet with the other Warlords.

 _At the end of each journey, a new path will be formed;_

 _Through great tragedy, a greater person's born;_

 _And when we're lost and fallen, we rise and find our way;_

 _That's the power of the Legend of Ransei!_

Swooping overhead on his Braviary, Avia's Warlord was stunned by what he saw below. A sea of people all across the city, more than he'd ever seen in one place outside of a battlefield. Even Avia's busiest marketplaces did not accumulate this many people on a weekly basis, forget daily. Was Yaksha really without Lord Kotaro now? Compared to what he had known Yaksha to be under the shadowy ninja's control, it was like new life had been breathed into the city. Had Kotaro truly caused Yaksha to suffer so? Masamune clenched his fist in anger. How could Nobunaga have ever thought to delegate Yaksha to such a monster, and cause the people to suffer?

But something wasn't right. The other villages and cities he had passed over on his way here were nowhere near as thriving as Yaksha City was now. Was it simply not hit as hard as the farming and mining villages because it was the capital, or was something else going on here? This emergency conference between the Warlords was meant to be a private gathering as he had been told by the messenger sent from Aurora.

This thought brought him back to the twins. Clearly, any ill that had befallen this kingdom was just as much on their hands as it was the traitorous Kotaro. They had failed to protect Ransei from harm, and their peace was shallow and short-lived. It was up to someone else now to step up and take the reins from them.

He smirked. It was finally time for the One-Eyed Dragon to soar to the top of Ransei, and be the one to truly unite the land!

 _So begins a new Legend of Ransei!_

 _So begins a new Legend of Ransei!_

"Well now… This is a lovely surprise." Black heels met with solid ground as the Lady of Illusio made her way off of the blimp with her beloved Pokemon, her Froslass floating beside her and her Cubchoo nestled in her arms. Following not far behind her was her brother with his Gallade. Below them, waiting at the foot of the stairs was Kenshin's nemesis alongside his Rhyperior.

"Lord Shingen. Delightful to see you again so soon." Aya greeted as she descended the last of the stairs.

"A pleasure as always, my lady." Shingen responded with a bow, "Though, perhaps not as much with the circumstances being what they are."

"Indeed." Kenshin said as he reached the bottom of the stairs with his sister. He extended his hand to Shingen and the two exchanged a handshake.

"I wonder about that." Aya mused. "It may be that I'm losing touch with things in my age, but I can't say I've ever seen a kingdom in ruins look quite this full of life."

"In ruins or no, the fact remains that this kingdom cannot survive without a Warlord." Shingen remarked. "Whatever miracle has kept Yaksha City going, I'm grateful, but it won't sustain itself forever. This must be taken care of immediately."

"Of course. Don't misunderstand me, my lord. I am completely in agreement that this kingdom is in dire need of a leader. Perhaps they have already found one."

Shingen grinned. "Hah. You think so? And here I was thinking that I would have to return to my own conquest of Ransei."

"That wouldn't sit well with the other Warlords, you know." Aya giggled, "You would have Lord Ujiyasu and Lord Masamune at your throat before you knew it."

Terrera's Warlord scoffed, "I'm hardly intimidated by that competition. There's only one Warlord in Ransei I have to fear." His eyes met Kenshin's. A grin fell across the Warlord of Illusio's face, more than ready to meet the challenge.

"If vying for Yaksha will earn me the right to face you, Nemesis, then I'll gladly put my hat in the ring."

"I expect as much." Shingen said with a laugh. "Yaksha will be an interesting change of pace from Kawanakajima, my friend. I'm almost excited for the opportunity."

At this point, the trio of Warlords noticed that their presence had amassed a small crowd of admirers who were starstruck to see the legendary warriors Kenshin Uesugi and Shingen Takeda in person, along with their fearsome Gallage and Rhyperior. This festival had attracted even the greatest warriors in the land to come to Yaksha. The group of warlords decided then to take their leave for the castle, not wanting to attract too much attention with their presence. However, Aya's smile took on a more mischievous tone as she decided to have a bit of fun before they left. As she walked along with her brother and Shingen, she stopped close to a group of children that had gathered to see the two veteran Warlords.

"No matter what, I think you two will have to treat Yaksha to a battle before we leave the kingdom." she said just a hair louder than her usual tone. The children near her gasped and excitedly began to talk amongst themselves about seeing an epic battle between Lord Shingen and Lord Kenshin. She had to hold back a laugh as they walked to the castle.

 _Ours is a tale of hope and triumph;_

 _It's a song of war and strife;_

 _It's a dance of light and shadow;_

 _A rich tapestry of life!_

"I can sense ghosts in the woods." Lady Nō pondered as she walked through the city. Her Mismagius floated next to her. One of her human companions responded.

"I've never heard of ghost Pokemon in Yaksha before." Said Lord Ieyasu of Valora, accompanied by his Aggron.

"I've never seen this many people wandering around Yaksha during the day. This kingdom is usually more deserted than my own." Coming from the Warlord of Spectra, the necropolis of Ransei, this said something. "I can't wait to see what the nightlife will be like."

"My Lady, I ask that you concentrate." Lord Mitsuhide urged, currently not accompanied by his partner Lapras. "This only serves to remind us what dire straits this kingdom is in. We have no time to be distracting ourselves with petty observations."

"Yes, I can see just how dreadful this kingdom's situation is now that Kotaro left." Nō snipped with an eye roll. "Oh, these poor people! Everywhere you look there's anarchy. Thieves and vandals are running wild. People are too afraid to leave their houses! Children are living in the streets."

"I don't find your sarcasm funny." Mitsuhide chided her. "Nothing adds up. There is no reason for this city to be functioning without its Warlord to keep order, especially with every other city in Yaksha reduced to a chaotic mess. Ghost Pokemon migrating here all of a sudden. Feral Pokemon that want no contact with humans out in the open. What next?"

"Well, I just caught sight of a black Meowth, for one."

"Enough of your inappropriate jokes!" Mitsuhide snapped, feeling a vein begin to pulse on his head from the stress Spectra's Warlord was causing him. "There is no such thing as a black Meowth! Act like a Warlord, and take this matter seriously!"

Ieyasu stayed out of their squabbling, his thoughts on the steep road they had ahead of them, and what his and Valora's course of action would be.

 _When all wars have ended, all battles have been won;_

 _The world will still be turning, for the story's never done;_

 _And when the sun rises, and the night becomes the day;_

 _So begins a new Legend of Ransei!_

Oichi and Jigglypuff entered Yaksha castle and walked inside. She thought back to when they had come to challenge Lord Kotaro for control of Yaksha. This kingdom had always possessed a certain atmosphere of gloom, and the Fuma ninja taking over did nothing to aid this. But this castle showed clear signs of being abandoned for some time. It was dank and musty. Some candles had been lit to break through the pervasive darkness, but it did little to help things. Dust was collecting on the furniture. Wild Pokemon had clearly taken up refuge in here, and she swore she saw a nest in a far corner of the room. Cobwebs hung here and there. There was damage from Pokemon that had found their way inside, and some graffiti on the walls. Though she noticed this graffiti was the familiar crest of the Fuma. So Kotaro's ninjas had done their part to destroy this place even when they were here. What horrible people they were to do this to their own kingdom.

The only light she could see were the smiles of her two closest friends as they greeted her at the door. Espeon and Umbreon sat next to them, each giving her a big smile in greeting. She smiled back. With them here, she felt much more at ease then she had for the last three days, dreading every second she was away from them and forced to think about solving Yaksha's problems on her own with no immediate solution.

"Thanks for coming, Oichi." Ryoko greeted with a hug. Her twin soon joined in. They broke apart, and Ryo looked at Oichi. Her smile fell. The Mamoswine in the room had to be addressed, as it did at every Warlord conference. She didn't blame him for wondering. In fact, given the circumstances, her brother's absence was even more pronounced.

"Nobunaga isn't coming?" he asked.

"I am here to represent the kingdom of Dragnor in my brother's stead." Oichi said, the words exiting her mouth like clockwork. She had grown accustomed to saying this for the last three months since unification. "I'm sorry that I'm a poor replacement for him."

"I'm grateful that you're here, Oichi." Ryo assured her with a smile and a hand on her shoulder. He sighed, "I can't believe he won't come now, of all the times to not make an appearance. I thought he would care about this."

"He does." Ryoko said with certainty, "He didn't come for a reason, I'm sure. Oichi, you're here because he thinks it's what's best."

"Y-yes. Yes, I know you're right, Ryoko." Oichi nodded, "Nobunaga trusts me. I won't let him or you down."

"You're the best Oichi." Ryo said.

"Everyone else is already here." Ryoko said, "They're waiting for us upstairs."

"Come on, then." Ryo took the lead and guided them to the conference room. "It's gonna be a long day. We've got a lot to fix."

 _So begins a new Legend of Ransei!_

* * *

Quick warning: Depending how long the other chapters turn out, I might end up adding onto this chapter. This first chapter was originally supposed to end with the Warlords' Conference, so if that chapter ends up being shorter than 7,000 words, expect it to be taped onto Chapter 1 rather than becoming its own segment.

God, I hate writing poetry. Don't ask me how those songs are supposed to sound. I don't have a head for music, and I barely have an understanding of how to write good poetry. I think the verses came out pretty cool, anyway. Music is gonna be a big part of this story. While I didn't do it in this chapter, I think I'll write the names of songs at the start of each chapter that inspired that particular segment, or at least resonate with certain parts of the story.

So that was chapter 1. I am fully determined to write this to completion, and will attempt to make regular updates like a normal person. But there is going to be a hiccup in that plan for the time being. While I may post the Warlords' Conference sometime this week, if I don't, you shouldn't expect anything for a few weeks. One of the new things going on in my life is that I have a job. I'm doing freelance work as an audio transcriptionist and video captioner in order to make some money, and for the next 2-3 weeks, I intend to take as many jobs as possible to get some spending money for my family reunion in July. Particularly, I'm finally old enough to go to the casino with my older cousins and gamble! :3 So I'm gonna try to focus on money making until the reunion's passed, and then get back to doing this.

I think it's gonna be a long time before I really get back into the swing of things, and I apologize if my writing's not up to par with what it used to be. Please be patient with me while I work through my problems and get reacquainted with my lost love. This is going to be a hard road for me, but I'm determined to get through it, and hopefully this story can help me get some closure with what's been going on. I've had this idea stewing in my head for years now, so it should be easy enough to write out since I know almost everything of what's gonna happen starting at chapter 1. That's better than most of my stories. Wish me luck!

Until then, I bid you adieu. Farewell 'til next time! R&R at your leisure.


	2. Playing Into His Hands

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It took much longer than I wanted to get back to this story. My family had been told back in July that we had until August 8th to get out of our house, so I was focused on packing all my belongings up and moving out. August 8th came around and, surprise surprise, turns out we _didn't_ need to leave by then, and we haven't heard a word from our lawyer or the bank since. Since it's been almost a month now and nothing's come of it, I thought it would be safe to return to my normal activities, such as my writing. So provided we hear nothing from our lawyer, I should have no trouble making regular updates for a while.

This chapter was finished yesterday morning, to be honest, but I was suffering from some sickness and fatigue that made it hard to stare at my computer screen. I'm seriously starting to think I have a sleeping disorder. Half the time, I feel like an insomniac, and the other half, I'm narcoleptic. Although, sleeping on the floor probably doesn't help matters. smh.

More important than my petty whining and rambling, I want to thank Mephilia Venus and Imperator Justinian for their reviews on the previous chapter. I missed you guys while I was away, and it's great to know you're still around and supporting my stories. Hopefully I'm still able to give you and everyone else a story worth reading.

So here's Chapter 2. I didn't expect this one to be as long as it was, but I added some stuff in with my character that I hadn't originally intended to be in here. This was originally supposed to just be the warlords' conference, but I had an idea at the last minute and decided to roll with it. Hopefully this won't be too terrible. Enjoy!

* * *

Waking up to the sound of your parents screaming at each other was never a good way to start the day. But being awoken by a Murkrow pecking at your skull was considerably worse. At least the former didn't inflict _physical_ pain and was easy to ignore. She had been having a pleasant nap, too, in one of the dark guest rooms of Yaksha castle, with its cozy bed and drawn shades located in the northwest corner of the building. At home, her room was on the east side of the manor, so sunrise was always a miserable time for her.

"Ow, ow, _OW_!" She yelled, sitting up quickly and swatting at her assailant. The dark Pokemon hopped off the bed and roosted itself on the nightstand instead, still looking at her as she rubbed her skull, tears coming from her brown eyes that turned to look at it. Coming to her senses and realizing what happened, she fixed it with a glare.

"Asshole Murkrow! _Why_?!" She shouted, wiping her tears away. "I was having a _nice dream_ , far away from here, and for some reason, I deserve to be awoken to the feeling of my skull being drilled through!"

The Pokemon crowed back and then went to grooming its feathers.

"What's that? You _suck_?!" she asked, mimicking the Murkrow's voice as closely as she could. It was an accurate likeness. "Oh no, don't be so hard on yourself." She said in her own voice. "I mean, it's _true_ , but you don't need to say that about _yourself_. I'll do it for you! Ugh."

The Murkrow wasn't fazed at all by her taunts, continuing to pluck at its wings. She sighed. Looking across the room, she noticed two more of the jet-feathered birds on a faraway table, pecking at the worn-out wooden surface. There was also a Scraggy sleeping in an empty drawer in a far-off corner of the room. She pulled the black silk sheets off her body, and moved to get off the bed.

"The castle gets abandoned for a few months, and you guys decide to move in, huh?" No response, as anticipated. "Well, it's better than what I was expecting, at least."

"What were you expecting?" She squawked, getting up from the bed.

"Well, considering the last time I snuck in here, I almost got beheaded by ninjas before Lord Kotaro stepped in. I know the Fuma are gone, but I was expecting some rogues to be loitering about. This place really is abandoned this time."

She considered something briefly, then voiced her thoughts through the Murkrow's voice, "Ninja traps, dummy." she groaned a bit, annoyed with her own stupidity.

"Right, duh." She turned around. The Murkrow on the nightstand wasn't even looking at her anymore. "Well, what do you expect from me? I'm not a warrior, after all. I'm not gonna think about these thi-"

She heard a crow coming from behind her. One of the black birds across the room was staring at her. She smirked. "Well, that language was uncalled for. I don't appreciate the _sass_ , you guys. I've got enough sass in my life as it is." Their response to this statement was to continue pecking at the table. One of them hopped away from the other and swooped down to the floor.

"Oh, great. There she goes again with her life story!"

"Does she ever stop talking?" She paused her Murkrow impersonating to consider the former statement.

"Come to think of it, are you even the same Murkrow I was talking to before? I highly doubt it, but I'm just gonna assume you are, and that you're all caught up on my pitiful story." One of them squawked, and she decided that it was a voice of protest.

"It's not like you can understand me anyway, so just stay there and pretend to listen. It was another one of _those_ nights, so I've got a bit to get off my chest."

She continued her one-sided conversation with the Murkrow, even while they flew around the room, completely ignoring her. She was surprised they weren't territorial and attacking her further. If there was a proper nest in the room, she figured that would probably be a different story. Murkrow weren't the friendliest Pokemon with humans. Even among the warriors that were born and raised in Yaksha, she'd never known a single one to ever bond with the dark-type birds. Scraggy, Sandile and Pawniard were perhaps the friendliest of the dark-type Pokemon. She had also heard of a few warriors who bonded with the crafty Sneasel, and she even knew a skilled warrior in town that had linked with a Deino as a boy, which had recently evolved into Zweilous. But there were many dark-type Pokemon that lived in Yaksha besides those. Houndour and Absol, Stunky and Nuzleaf. Zorua… Many dark Pokemon, but so few of them actually formed links with warriors. So few got close to humans at all. She remembered seeing Lord Kotaro surrounded by packs of wild Houndour and Zorua in the forest, resting amongst them as though he were one of them. That sort of connection was special. Though she wasn't a warrior herself, even she could understand that. His partner had been a Zoroark, but it had seemed as though he could bond with all dark Pokemon with just a glance, that they would listen to and heed his command at will. There had also been a certain affection on his part as well that was unique to the wild Pokemon of Yaksha. This anarchy in the kingdom wouldn't maintain itself forever. Eventually, a new warlord was bound to take power. When that time came, she hoped they would have that same bond, that same affection that Kotaro had.

She went over to her bag and took out a comb. As she held it up to go through the tangled mess that was her hair, one of the Murkrow swooped down and grabbed it from her hand.

"Hey!" she shouted, eyes darting to the thief as it landed next to its friends on the other side of the room. She scowled, but didn't feel like hunting them down just to get back the item. Her mother would buy her a new one, no questions asked.

"Urrgh, you guys are _obnoxious_ today!" she seethed, running her hands through her hair, trying to straighten things out as best she could with just her fingers. A chorus of crows followed this exclamation. If she didn't know better, she'd think they were laughing at her. "Whatever, whatever. I don't need it." Ignoring the trio of troublemakers, she started to get changed out of her sleepwear into proper clothes. When she reached into her bag to get out her shirt, she realized it was missing.

"Seriously?" she groaned, and started shuffling things around. "I know I packed one in here." Realizing it wasn't in there, she remembered that she had taken a book out last night to read, and she might have taken a few other things out with it. She looked all around and under the bed, but found nothing. Now this was getting frustrating.

"I saw it last night when I was getting my book." she repeated out loud. "I _know_ it has to be here." She turned to her roommates with a playful grin. "Let me guess, you guys took my shirt, too?" But then her eyes fell to one of the open drawers of a dresser next to the table across the room, where a black shirt was spilling out of. She stared at it perplexed.

"Well, son of a Houndoom. They actually did." she mumbled, walking over to it. Picking up the article of clothing and feeling the cheap material, it was definitely hers. Then she noticed the small puncture holes made by their beaks. "Of course. Not cool, jerks. I actually do need this; kind of important." she chuckled, pulling it on for emphasis. She looked over at the kleptomaniacs. "How the hell did you guys get this? My bag was closed befo-"

Her words were cut short as she noticed that only one Murkrow was in the corner now, just staring up at her blankly. "Where did your friends go?" A crow directed her to her opened bag, where the two missing ones had their heads inside. One came out with nothing (at least that she could see), but the other had managed to grab a black-covered book, and thrashed it around.

Her eyes widened, and she sprinted to her bag as quickly as she could. But the thieves saw her charging for them, and they flew away much faster than she could get to them. To her horror, the one with the book in its mouth went to the room's balcony, and flew outside.

"No, no, no, no, no!" She cried, trying to push herself to go faster to no avail. By some miracle, the Murkrow turned around and hovered there for a moment long enough for her to catch it and get a hand on the book to pull it away. The Pokemon crowed at her, and landed on the rail, looking at her as she tried to catch her breath. The adrenaline was starting to slow down, and her lack of fitness was catching up to her. That was more exercise than she was used to doing in a week.

"You … stupid … bird!" she panted out when she started to get her breath back. "That's the last thing … I need … is you … flying off with … my sketchbook … to who knows where. Not everything in here is acceptable for public viewing, you know."

"Krooow." it cawed back.

"I know, I know. You're an asshole! We've established this." she snarked, "You know what, you probably _are_ the same one that tried to kill me just now! Don't ignore me when I'm scolding you!" she exclaimed as it hopped up and turned its entire body so that it was facing away from the castle, towards its gate. "As I said before, I _do not_ appreciate your sa-"

She cut herself off when she focused her gaze to where her friend was looking. Down below, with a strained groan, the main gates opened up, and a group of people walked inside. As she focused on them, the other two Murkrow flew out and perched by the third member of their group, also staring at the action happening below. As she got a better look, the girl's eyes widened in recognition, and she quickly dropped to the ground, and crawled back into the room. One of the Murkrow noticed her, and watched while she started nervously pacing about.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, _oh-my-freaking-gosh_!" she stammered, quickly hurrying to put on the rest of her clothes, throwing a black jacket on and fumbling with her boots. "Warriors, _no warlords_! W _arlords in the castle!_ Arceus, Palkia and Dialga, I am going to get in _so_ much trouble if I'm found _trespassing_!" She went to her bag and went over everything inside, making sure that she left nothing of hers behind. Satisfied that everything was in its proper place, she closed it up and started to head out, until she noticed her comb in the corner. Her birds friends had dropped it. She quickly grabbed it, and stuffed it in her bag as she exited the room.

"Gotta move fast, gotta move fast." She muttered, stopping by a vase in the corridor. She reached behind it to pull the secret switch hidden there, and bolted through the hidden passageway as it revealed itself within the wall. She ran through the tight passageway, up a ladder, and began to crawl through the ninja passage. She was vaguely aware of where she was in the castle; the wall to her right separated her from a large room that was typically used by the warlord of the kingdom for discussing battle strategies with their generals or for entertaining warlords from other kingdoms. As she kept going, she was intensely aware of the loud groans and squeaks of the floorboards beneath her. Ninjas might not have a problem with sneaking around inside here, but she wasn't trained to tread lightly as they were. She'd have to go fast before someone came into the room and heard her behind the wall.

She found herself halfway to her destination, another ladder to take her down to a trapdoor that led out of the castle, when she heard it. The door in the room slid open, and she heard the voices of both people and Pokemon entering. She froze in her hiding place. Her escape was right there, just a few yards away. But she didn't want to risk being heard behind the wall. She heard heavy footsteps in the room next to her, and low rumbling voices. There were some _big_ Pokemon that just entered that room, and she _definitely_ did not want to be found by the warlords they accompanied. So she decided to wait it out. She had nowhere to be until this evening, so she could wait as long as she needed to. Better than getting hit with Arceus only knew what attack.

She attempted to get her bearings on just who was beyond the wall that she hid behind. She heard a mixture of voices, male and female, and widely ranged in age. There were names being given through greetings, and she tried to focus in on them. Lord Motonari … Lady Ginchiyo … Lord Ieyasu … Lord Hideyoshi … Lady Nō … She recognized some, but not many.

Lord Ujiyasu … when his name was mentioned, it got her interest. Ujiyasu had been the warlord of Yaksha before Nobunaga came in and put Lord Kotaro in charge. She looked at the wall, and realized that light was coming in to where she was from the other side. She could hear a large Pokemon stomping around the room, literally feet away from where she hid, and the chatter of the people within allowed her an opportunity to readjust herself just enough to find a good vantage point from where she was to peep. She found a seam between two boards, and peered through.

Her face lit up when she saw all the Pokemon in the room. Most of them were _huge_ , just as she suspected, and they were all incredibly awesome. There were Pokemon that she didn't even recognize, and of widely varying types. Then she saw their warriors. While she only recognized a few faces, or in some cases family crests, it was enough for her to know that every person present was a warlord. Was every warlord in Ransei here?! She took a head count three times, coming to the count of 15 each one. 11 men, four women. Only one kingdom was absent. The 17 kingdoms of Ransei and their warlords was not a topic that her teachers had demanded she learn. However, she was familiar with a few of them, or at least the ruling families. She went around the room, trying to identify as many names as she could, of warlords and Pokemon alike.

Ignis's warlord was a man named Hideyoshi Toyotomi. He was known for being a brilliant man with an affable nature, but perhaps more-so for his resemblance to a Chimchar. Ironically, his partner Pokemon was none other than an Infernape. It was rumored that when Ignis had fallen under his control, he had burned down the old castle of the kingdom, and rebuilt it from scratch in a single night. Even without his Infernape hanging off his back like a child, she could have guessed him solely by appearance. Side-by-side with his Pokemon, the resemblance truly was uncanny. His funny appearance did not take away from kind eyes and a wide grin full of humor. He seemed incredibly approachable, and was finding no trouble chatting up the others around him, one older man with a big gray Pokemon she didn't recognize, another, younger man with long blue hair, and a woman with a Crobat.

The latter of this group, she recognized as Lady Nene from the neighboring kingdom Viperia. While she didn't know that much about Lady Nene herself, Viperia was practically Yaksha's elder brother. Yaksha had always been a pink Mareep in every sense of the word, and its leadership had never been consistent. Furthermore, not every one of its warlords had been ninjas. Viperia, however, was the birthplace of the ninja, and had been ruled by ninjas since its inception. While most kingdoms typically were passed from parent to child of the ruling family of the land, only to occasionally be usurped by another, Viperia was the only kingdom where each of its warlords had earned their place. Lady Nene was no exception to this, she was sure. The ninjas of Yaksha and Viperia notoriously did not get along with one another, but she had never heard a Yaksha ninja speak poorly of Lady Nene. Any mention to her had always been of her sweetness and warmth. They always spoke of a motherly woman with a heart of gold. Golbat were only able to evolve through possession of the closest bonds with their warriors. So that Crobat flying near her made two things clear: her bond with it was strong, and she was a _very_ powerful warlord. Her youth and her glowing, cheerful smile should not suggest otherwise.

Greenleaf historically was not a prominent kingdom in Ransei, but its warlord was quite famous for having the longest tenure of any other warlord in history. Lord Motonari was his name if memory served. She couldn't remember the exact years he'd ruled Greenleaf. 40, 50, something like that. She knew that he had some conquests under his belt, but similar to Lord Ujiyasu in Cragspur, he was much more concerned with his home kingdom's safety. Prior to Aurora's victory in Greenleaf two years ago, Lord Motonari had never lost control of Greenleaf. He was a legendary strategist who could defeat even the mightiest warlords with his schemes. Greenleaf was the kingdom of grass-type Pokemon. If she hadn't known this, Lord Motonari might have been hard to pick out from the others. But the Pokemon lounging beside one man suggested grass-type. She had never seen a Serperior before, but it was exactly how it was described in the books she had read. A long, legless creature with green and yellow scales and the body of a Dragonair. It was an absolutely beautiful Pokemon, boasting an air of regalness she wasn't used to seeing from wild Pokemon in Yaksha. She was too afraid to take out her sketchbook and attempt to put its image to paper, so she instead tried to take in every detail of it, hoping that she could draw something close to accurate later on. Lord Motonari himself sat at the table in the center of the room, a quiet smile on his face as he read from a book. It was too far away for her to read the title. He showed some age in his green hair that was beginning to gray, but otherwise it appeared that the sixty-some years of his life had been kind to him. Judging by his smile, he had been kind in return. Never before had she seen an old man look so happy with the world. Most either grew tired or bitter. She'd had the displeasure of being around far too many of them. But Lord Motonari reminded her of her own grandfather, a kind and easygoing man.

There were four women in the room at present. Besides Lady Nene, the only other one she recognized was Ginchiyo Tachibana. Aurora's army had appeared in Yaksha February of last year, two weeks before her birthday. Lady Ginchiyo had been one of Aurora's five generals during that battle, where she and her Luxio had lit up the battlefield with thunderbolt after thunderbolt. The Tachibana clan was one of the oldest in Ransei. They had founded their home kingdom of Violight, and had ruled it since time immemorial alongside their electric-type Pokemon. It was an incredibly proud clan that bred strong warriors, such as Lady Ginchiyo. Putting aside her knowledge of the Tachibana clan and going strictly by appearances, she knew that she respected Lady Ginchiyo _instantly_. From her posture to her no-nonsense glare, she _bled_ strength and pride from head to toe. Her Luxio mirrored her in all these regards. That didn't stop the electric cat from being one of the most adorable things she had ever seen. She had a certain weakness for furry quadrupeds like Luxio.

Another one of the generals from Aurora's army that she recognized was Lord Yoshihiro. However, since Aurora's victory in Yaksha, and ultimately their conquest of Ransei, he had returned to his original position as the warlord of Pugilis. He was a huge, intimidating man with an equally intimidating fighting-type Pokemon she didn't know the name of, who had clearly not slowed down with age. Yet he and his kingdom were two more subjects she was not familiar with. She knew that Pugilis was another kingdom like Yaksha, which frequently traded hands between warlords, and Yoshihiro's clan, the Shimazu, supposedly had some unofficial rivalry with the Tachibana. He and Lady Ginchiyo seemed to be having a friendly conversation, so it wasn't immediately obvious that this was true.

Chrysalia was an interesting case. For a while, it had been a prominent kingdom that boasted one of the strongest armies in all of Ransei. It had once been thought that the Imagawa clan would come to unite the 17 kingdoms under their kingdom's banner. But at some point, it almost seemed as though Chrysalia had fallen off the map. All the kingdoms that had fallen under its control had been reclaimed, the kingdom had become withdrawn, and the next time anyone heard anything from Ransei's northwestern-most kingdom, it appeared that it had almost become an aristocracy. As for its warlord, Yoshimoto Imagawa … No one really knew what happened with him. Looking at the man in the expensive-looking robes with the… thing (bug Pokemon? Not one she was familiar with) next to him … her best guess was … some kind of head injury? Maybe?

A smile stretched across her face when she saw the man with the scars on his face and the Gigalith laying at his side. It was none other than Ujiyasu Hojo. The Hojo clan had been the founders of Yaksha. Lord Ujiyasu's grandfather had claimed the free land for the Hojo while aiming to expand Cragspur's territory. From the day she was born until she was about 14, Ujiyasu had been Yaksha's warlord, and had treated it no differently than his home kingdom of Cragspur. During Nobunaga's campaign, Ujiyasu had kept the Demon King at bay, blocking his path into western Ransei indefinitely. But eventually, Nobunaga had pushed through. He had taken control of Yaksha, and Lord Ujiyasu had been forced to withdraw his forces back to Cragspur. From that moment on, Yaksha had been under Oda rule. She actually thought that Nobunaga had killed him until the news that Cragspur had been returned to Lord Ujiyasu after Unification. Rumor had it he had gotten that scar on his face fighting Nobunaga…

It was then that she realized that Lord Nobunaga wasn't in the room. She knew what he looked like, and his Pokemon, a Hydreigon. She couldn't even see a dragon Pokemon in the room. So both Dragnor and Aurora were absent, seeing as there were also no Eeveelutions running around, and none of the women in the room resembled Lady Ryoko of Aurora. Even so, she kept looking, trying to get a glimpse of …

No way.

No … _way!_

She had been so focused on seeing Lord Ujiyasu again, she had completely blocked out who he was freaking talking to. Next to the former warlord of her kingdom were none other than the legendary warriors Kenshin Uesugi and Shingen Takeda, and their respective partners Gallade and Rhyperior. She knew it was them beyond a doubt, their appearances exactly as they were spoken of by the traveling warriors that told tales of their battles with one another. _Everyone_ in Ransei knew about the battles that took place at Kawanakajima, the land located exactly between Illusio and Terrera that both kingdoms had fought for control of for almost a decade. What had originally been a much-sought-after territory had become the private battlefield used exclusively for the two warlords' battles with one another, the territory dispute long since forgotten. Kenshin and Shingen were so perfectly matched, every single battle that had ever taken place at Kawanakajima had ended in a draw. There were more than a hundred tales about their legendary fights, and she knew every single one of them. Respect was not something that she was comfortable simply handing to people. But if there were any warlords in this room that she respected, Lord Ujiyasu, Lord Shingen and Lord Kenshin were easily in the top 3.

But there was a fourth member of their group, a woman dressed in white. She sat close to Lord Kenshin, but was engrossed in conversation with Lord Shingen and Lord Ujiyasu. She was a lovely woman, the very embodiment of grace and elegance. It was hard to look away from her, but at the same time, her beauty was unnerving. It made her more aware of the dirt and grime on her feet, the holes in her clothes, her greasy, unkempt hair, her unappealing face. Her parents and sister always commented on her ragged, lowly appearance, how poorly she kept herself. Yet even when she had tried to make herself pretty and refined, the face that stared back at her would never be one that she liked. She had given up trying to be beautiful; her family never saw the effort, and she never saw the results she wanted. In the woman's arms, there was the most precious little ball of white fluff that she had ever laid eyes on. She'd had a stuffed toy of one in her childhood, but couldn't recall the Pokemon's name. She had no problems identifying the Pokemon at the woman's side, however: a Froslass. The girl had never seen one before, but she had heard of them from travelers and in books. Beautiful ghosts of the north with hollowed bodies that froze their prey in ice. She gazed in awe at it, one of the most radiant creatures she had ever laid eyes on. A beautiful Pokemon for a beautiful warlord.

The rest of the room, she wasn't too familiar with. Avia's warlord was identifiable by the giant bird Pokemon perched next to him. He sat alone, at the back of the table, looking directly ahead. He was facing towards a window, she noted, remembering the layout of this room. There was a balcony with a very lovely view of the sky. Well, lovely if you liked seeing nothing but dark clouds for miles, such was the weather in Yaksha. She'd heard some rumors about him, but they were incredibly vague at best. Avia wasn't the most notable of kingdoms on its own, and her knowledge of it was minimal. Yet he seemed pensive. She couldn't help but wonder what was on his mind.

Fontaine's warlord was hard to identify. There was an attractive man with a Lapras, and a man with a shamisen and weird hair (like she was one to judge) that had a smallish, blue Pokemon near him. Lapras were found primarily in the north, so she ruled out the blue-haired man for the guy with the shamisen. She didn't know anything about Fontaine, or its warlord. Nixtorm's warlord, to her knowledge, was a man, so that must have been who the guy with the Lapras was.

Though now, that raised the question of who the woman with the Froslass was. She would assume Spectra, but there was another very, _very_ attractive woman with a Mismagius in the room who could also take that title. She'd heard so many things about Spectra's current warlord, so many whispers. It would be wonderful to put a name and a face to the woman of mystery. She had always dreamed of traveling to Spectra, Ransei's great necropolis. After dark-types, she had always been fascinated by ghost Pokemon. She'd heard there were no Pokemon quite like them.

She knew that Valora's warlord was a veteran, Lord Ieyasu Tokugawa. One of Nobunaga's closest and most loyal allies. The only person left in the room was the older man with the giant gray Pokemon that she was certain at this point was a steel-type. His face was kind, but it was clear that the man had been worn down by decades of battles. But she noticed the smile he wore, and the laughter he shared with those around him.

In fact, she noticed it in the entire room. These people, who had seen so much war and had endured such great trials in their lives, they somehow filled the room with a prevailing sense of optimism. These people had been enemies not a few months ago. They had clashed on the battlefield, they had taken their lands and their homes from one another. Was there no ill will left between them? Had all these different people truly found a way to exist in harmony? It stunned her. How was it so easy for them, when so many struggled to work through their differences and live together peacefully? Was this the power of the legendary Pokemon, and the hero of Ransei?

It seemed that Cragspur, Viperia, Illusio, Terrera, Spectra, Greenleaf, Violight, Ignis, Fontaine, Pugilis, Avia, Valora, Nixtorm, and Chrysalia's warlords were present. That was 14 kingdoms, leaving Aurora, Dragnor and Yaksha.

After some time, she heard the room's door slide open, and the conversations in the room fell silent. She tried to move herself to see who had entered, but realized she wouldn't be able to without making noise. She didn't want to risk being heard.

"Everyone, take your seats." she heard the voice of a young man say. "We're about to begin."

Those that were already sitting at the table remained where they were, and those that stood moved to the closest seat available. In all the movement, she tried to catch a glimpse of who came in. She saw three heads walking to the seats closest to the balcony, at the head of the table. Two brunettes, and one pink haired girl. She couldn't make out their faces until they sat down. She recognized the two females, and she didn't need to recognize the young man to know who he was. She caught glimpses of their Pokemon as well: An Umbreon, an Espeon, and a Jigglypuff. Her jaw fell agape. There they were, the Unifiers of Ransei. Aurora's twin warlords, Lady Ryoko and Lord Ryo, and their second-in-command, the girl with the Jigglypuff. She had seen Lady Ryoko and the pink haired girl when they came to challenge Lord Kotaro. Where Lord Ryo had been at the time, she didn't know. This was the first time she had seen him in person, despite the fact that he had taken residence in Yaksha Castle several times. The warlords didn't associate with the nobles that often, and she had never seen them at parties. The Espeon at Lady Ryoko's side was beyond gorgeous, with shining velvety fur and mysterious amethyst eyes, but what really drew her focus were the glowing rings and blood-red eyes of the Umbreon seated closer to Lord Ryo. She had never seen such incredible, beautiful Pokemon before.

"What is she doing here?!" _The voice of Avia's warlord broke through the silence, and drew her attention to him. She noticed then that he was sitting directly across from Lord Ryo, who was at the very head of the table._ "Where's Nobunaga?!"

All eyes in the room turned to the pink-haired girl. She flushed under the gaze of her peers, and clutched her Jigglypuff tightly to her, as though the pink Pokemon were to be a shield.

She stammered a response to the command. "I-I am here to… to represent the kingdom of D-Dragnor…"

"Oh, don't give us that!" Avia's warlord snapped, rising from his place to leer down at her. "Don't you think we've heard that enough?!" _She watched from her hiding place as the pink-haired girl shriveled under his anger. That poor girl. There wasn't much worse than being put in such a situation._

"Lord Masamune, Lady Oichi is here to represent Dragnor, and you will show her the respect she deserves." Lord Ryo spoke up, struggling to hide his frustration with the other warlord.

Masamune scoffed. "I say _we're_ the ones being disrespected!" he protested. "Every other warlord in the kingdom has attended these conferences as you demand, yet Nobunaga has yet to make an appearance once! Instead, he sends his sister to speak for him! It doesn't seem to me he's too concerned with this kingdom's crisis if he leaves us to deal with this mess. Especially when he's in part responsible."

"Would you rather he send no one at all to represent Dragnor, as Kotaro did for Yaksha?" Lady Ryoko interjected. "Everyone in this room is here to help Yaksha, and pointing fingers will do us no good."

"No one else seems to have a problem with Lady Oichi being here but you, Masamune." Hideyoshi spoke, glaring at the one-eyed young man, who returned the scowl in kind. "And if your contribution here will amount to nothing more than complaining, perhaps it would be best if you leave."

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Ujiyasu commented.

"Hmph." Masamune took his seat, ignoring the other warlords sending him disapproving glares. "If she wants to play warlord, so be it. But don't expect anything useful out of a warrior who needs others to come to their rescue."

"Masamune!" Ryo reprimanded, "I won't have you-"

"Please!" Oichi spoke up suddenly, "I don't need you to defend me, Lord Ryo. I'm here to represent Dragnor and help this kingdom. Nothing else matters." The uncertainty in her face said otherwise, but it was clear she intended to stand by her words.

Ryo hesitated, but nodded his approval. From next to him, his sister smiled. "Alright." she agreed, "Then let's officially call this meeting to order." She turned to glare at Masamune again, "Assuming there are no further objections?"

He waved off the remark. "Let's just get this over with." he replied.

"Thank you." Ryo said, "In that case, let's start with the role call; make sure everyone is present."

"Can't you count?" Masamune commented. Just as Ryo was about to rebuke the snide remark, the flying warlord raised his hand. "Lord Masamune Date, warlord and representative of the kingdom of Avia, present." _The girl scowled. Arrogant bastard. He could give some of Yaksha's nobles a run for their money with his attitude._

"Thank you, Lord Masamune." Ryoko deadpanned with an added eye-roll, but wrote his name onto a scroll next to Avia. "Lord Shingen, starting with you, can we please go around the rest of the table?"

Shingen smiled from his seat next to Ryoko. "My pleasure, Lady Ryoko." he said, "Lord Shingen Takeda, warlord of the kingdom Terrera, present."

Motonari greeted them next with a smile and a bow. "Lord Motonari Mori, representing the kingdom of Greenleaf, present."

"Lady Nene, warlord and representative for the kingdom of Viperia, Lady Ryoko." Nene said with a salute.

"Lord Ujiyasu Hojo, Cragspur's warlord and representative." Ujiyasu said with a hand-wave. He seemed as annoyed with the role call as Masamune was, but was determined to remain civil so the process would go by quickly.

Hideyoshi smiled, before standing up to give an extravagant bow. "Representing the great kingdom of Ignis is none other than its handsome and gifted warlord-"

From next to him, Ujiyasu groaned before reaching up to Hideyoshi's shirt and pulling him back to his seat. "Hideyoshi's present and accounted for. Moving on." he grumbled. This got a few chuckles from some warlords, but mostly eye rolls. _Their observer had to stifle a laugh herself, but a smile still clung to her face. It didn't seem like he was taking himself too seriously._

Nene reached over to flick Hideyoshi's ear. " _Not the time._ " She seethed at him.

"Lighten up." he responded, rubbing his ear.

" _Moving on_." Ryo repeated.

Lord Yoshimoto smiled and waved. "My turn! Lord Yoshimoto Imagawa, ruler of the wondrous kingdom of Chrysalia! So delighted to be seeing you all again so soon!" he stated gleefully.

"…Right. Thank you, Lord Yoshimoto." Ryoko nodded, returning to her writing. _The observer felt similar. That was certainly a way to introduce yourself. Ruler? It was accurate, but what warlord introduced themselves that way? He seemed oblivious to the uncomfortable environment he'd established,_ _too._

Mitsuhide gave a curt bow, his face remaining stoic. "Lord Mitsuhide Akechi, warlord of Nixtorm and representative for the kingdom, present."

Masamune was skipped over, and Lord Ieyasu spoke next, giving a bow in a similar fashion to Mitsuhide. "Lord Ieyasu Tokugawa, and I am honored to represent Valora as its warlord."

Yoshihiro smiled and bowed. "Lord Yoshihiro Shimazu, here to represent the kingdom of Pugilis."

He was followed by Kenshin, "Lord Kenshin Uesugi, warlord and representative for the kingdom Illusio."

 _The girl hiding behind the wall leaned closer. The woman sitting next to Kenshin was next to give her name._

She directed her serene smile towards Aurora's warlords. Her voice was just as lovely as everything else about her. "Lady Aya Uesugi, representing Illusio kingdom alongside my brother." she said. _Well, she certainly wouldn't have guessed that. But looking at her and Kenshin now, she did notice some uncanny similarities. She had heard somewhere that Kenshin Uesugi had a sister. So that was Lady Aya, then._

The woman with the Mismagius smirked, looking down the table at her. "Interesting that you're here, my lady. What exactly made Illusio decide that two representatives were necessary?"

Lady Aya continued to smile, unfazed by the taunts from the other woman. "These are unusual circumstances, are they not? Lord Kenshin thought my presence might be helpful."

"I'd ask that both of you refrain from any conversations not relevant to the topic at hand." Ryo interjected, clearly growing frustrated, "And given your history, I prefer that you not talk to each other at all."

Lady Aya turned her attention to Ryo, "I assure you, Lord Ryo, I have no interest in associating with her in the slightest."

"I can't say the feeling is mutual." the other woman said with a coy smirk, "But I'll let you go… for now."

Ginchiyo rolled her eyes. "If you two are quite through, perhaps we can continue without further distractions?" she suggested. "Lady Ginchiyo of the Tachibana clan and warlord of Violight. Present and accounted for, Lord Ryo."

Fontaine's warlord followed, "Lord Motochika of the kingdom Fontaine, warlord and representative, present." he said.

This left Spectra's warlord, who had suddenly gone quiet. Several seconds passed with no response, as the other warlords turned to her in confusion. Growing tired of the silence, Ryo addressed her. "Lady Nō?"

"Yes?" she asked, turning to face the warlord of Aurora.

"Your name and kingdom for the record." Ryoko reminded her, as though she would have forgotten.

"Have you forgotten my name or the name of my kingdom?" she queried.

"Well, obviously not, but-"

"Then I see no need to hand either to you."

 _It looked like one or both of the twins were about to say something, but instead, Ryo turned to his sister, and gestured for her to just go ahead and write down Lady Nō's name on the record. Their observer found the behavior strange. Her fascination with Lady Aya was now being overshadowed by this Lady Nō. She was familiar with a superstition that names gave spirits power over humans. Did that have something to do with her reluctance to use her name? She was Spectra's warlord, after all. How mysterious. How cool._

Oichi gave a small bow. "L-Lady Oichi Oda, representing the kingdom of Dragnor on behalf of Lord N-Nobunaga Oda. Present."

"Lady Ryoko, warlord and representative of Aurora, present." Ryoko said, with a smile.

"Lord Ryo, warlord of Aurora, and overseer of this warlords' Conference." Ryo said.

"All kingdoms are present and accounted for." Ryoko stated. "This emergency Conference of the warlords can now be called to order. Lord Ryo of Aurora has the floor."

"Well, that was a waste of time." Masamune remarked.

"I'd like to keep formalities, if it's all the same to you." Ryo rebuked, meeting Masamune with a glare, "And if you don't like the way we're handling this, the invitation to leave still stands."

Masamune said nothing back to this, though his gaze still challenged the warlord of Aurora.

"I want everyone to remember why we're here, and especially what's at stake." Ryo began, "This is not something that I intend to take lightly, nor should any of you. Here is what Ryoko and I have been informed of so far: As you all know, for the past three months, Yaksha's warlord, Lord Kotaro Fuma, has not been in attendance of the warlords' conferences, nor has he sent any representation for the kingdom of Yaksha." _The girl leaned in closer, suddenly interested in more than just the warlords present. They were here to discuss Lord Kotaro. They were here to decide Yaksha's fate._

"We had received messages explaining Yaksha's absence sent by Kotaro's ninjas, decoys to keep us away from the kingdom so that it would fall into anarchy. It was only four days ago that Lord Ujiyasu and Lady Nene discovered Kotaro's disappearance and alerted us to the situation in Yaksha. For three months now, Yaksha has been without a warlord. Kotaro has disappeared without a trace, and in his absence, Yaksha has suffered heavily. We have called this emergency conference to determine how to go about fixing the damage that Kotaro has done, and to decide what to do about Yaksha's leadership. Yaksha is part of Ransei, and as warlords, we have a responsibility to protect the people here just as much as we do in our own kingdoms."

Ryo paused for a second, allowing his words to set in with everyone before continuing, "Now first, I want to thank Lord Ujiyasu for quickly alerting everyone present to Yaksha's current state. We're lucky you came to check on Lord Kotaro, and discovered the severe state of the kingdom." Ujiyasu nodded. "And Lady Nene, I thank you as well for not only working with Lord Ujiyasu to get word to the other warlords, but also for personally sending a team of your own ninjas to hunt down Kotaro and his followers. It's important that we find him as soon as possible."

Nene smiled, "Not at all, Lord Ryo. That awful Kotaro can't be allowed to abandon his own kingdom and not receive punishment for it. I'll catch him if it's the last thing I do!"

"Punishing Kotaro isn't our top priority right now, but the sooner we apprehend him, the better." Ryo stated, "First and foremost, we need to get this kingdom back on its feet, and the best way to do that is by finding Yaksha a new warlord to replace Kotaro. I think I'd be safe in assuming that nothing like this has ever happened in Ransei's history before?"

"Certainly not that I've read about, or lived through for that matter." Motonari answered.

Ryo nodded. "Then as far as I'm concerned, there's no protocol that needs to be followed. I'm willing to hear any suggestions you all may have." he said. "The floor is open to anyone who has an idea."

"Lord Ryo, permission to speak?" Ryo barely had time to finish his sentence before Lord Ujiyasu spoke up. Many of the warlords appeared to have thoughts they were interested in sharing then, but he certainly hadn't expected Ujiyasu to be the first to speak up on the matter. Wasn't he only concerned with his own kingdom usually?

"You have the floor, Lord Ujiyasu." Ryo agreed, nodding his approval.

"Thanks." the older warlord nodded, before addressing the rest of the conference. "I think most of you are aware that the kingdom of Yaksha was originally Hojo territory." he said, "My grandfather founded Yaksha, and until Nobunaga invaded, it had always been in my family's possession. Had I kept a tighter grip on this kingdom, and on my former general, Yaksha might not be in such a state right now."

"You can't blame yourself for this, Lord Ujiyasu." Ryoko mentioned.

"Regardless of where the blame lies, the fact remains that I had an obligation to protect this kingdom, and I didn't." he continued, "But what's important now is that Yaksha needs a leader to repair the damage and get things back on track. I know this kingdom, and its people and Pokemon. I'm willing to take responsibility for Yaksha as long as necessary to find a proper replacement for Kotaro."

"That would be much appreciated, Lord Ujiyasu." Ryo nodded, "Does anyone here object to this?"

"I certainly do!" Masamune exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table. "Let's not kid ourselves, you're only in this for your personal gain, Ujiyasu!"

"Masamune-" Ryoko groaned.

"Oh, he makes a good argument, for sure." Masamune continued unperturbed. "It makes perfect sense for Yaksha territory to be returned to Hojo rule. But don't you think ruling two kingdoms would give the Hojo too much power, especially when the warlords have to abide by the peace treaty forbidding us from expanding territory?"

Ujiyasu laughed. "Power to do _what_? Build up an army to conquer more kingdoms? If I had any interest in claiming Ransei for myself, I would have done so back in my prime. This isn't about power, you spoiled brat. It's about giving the people and Pokemon of this kingdom a leader who can protect and provide for them."

"And what's to say you're the leader this kingdom deserves?"

"They certainly deserve better than you, pipsqueak." Ujiyasu sneered.

"Oh, is that so?!" Masamune snapped, whipping his head up to face Ryo. "As far as I'm concerned, Kotaro abandoning Yaksha means that this kingdom is once more a free territory for the taking. And I'm willing to fight everyone in this room for this kingdom to fall under Avia's control!" he declared.

"Now wait just a minute, Masamune Date!" Nene suddenly spoke up, getting to her feet, "Just because you want control of this kingdom, doesn't give you the right to make a claim on it. You don't know the first thing about Yaksha."

"I don't need to know anything about Yaksha to be its warlord!" he argued.

"That way of thinking is just despicable!" she scolded him. "This isn't just another kingdom full of warriors and farmers and merchants. This is a kingdom of ninjas. Lord Ujiyasu, you're a wonderful warlord, but Yaksha's status as a ninja territory has only been growing with each passing year. This isn't the same kingdom it was five years ago. The people here need a warlord who can take charge of all these bad ninjas running around and set them straight. With Kotaro gone, I'm the only true ninja warlord among us. I think I should be the one to take charge of Yaksha!"

"Lady Nene, you're still a young warlord." Ujiyasu observed, "No offense to you, but I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving you with such a high responsibility."

"Don't you dare doubt me!" she yelled, "It's obvious that I'm the most qualified person here to take leadership of Yaksha! I'll treat it no differently than Viperia!"

"Yaksha isn't Viperia, that's the point!" he protested, "You know how to lead the ninjas in your kingdom, but the ninjas here are much different!"

"They just need the right guidance!" she insisted.

"If you want this kingdom, you'll have to fight Avia's army for it!" Masamune insisted.

"This fighting is getting us nowhere!" Shingen exclaimed, standing up as well. He turned his attention to Masamune. "You want a fight for this kingdom, boy? Very well, then I'll stake my own claim on Yaksha. You know that you won't stand a chance against the legendary Shingen Takeda, nor will any of the rest of you. I'll knock you all out before you even make it to the battlefield!"

"You think I can't handle the shrimp here on my own?!" Ujiyasu yelled at the red masked warlord, "You jumping into the fray isn't helping; stay out of this!"

"You think I'm the least bit worried about you, old man?!" Masamune bit back, "I'll just take Terrera while I'm at it!"

"No, there will be no fighting over this kingdom!" Ryo shouted, but it fell on deaf ears.

"Well, this is getting interesting now." Yoshihiro stated, standing as well, "I always like it when the odds are against me. Maybe Lord Shingen's inclusion could persuade Kenshin Uesugi to participate in this battle as well? Make this a real challenge!"

Kenshin scoffed, "I have no interest in expanding the Uesugi's territory." he insisted, "However, if my nemesis intends to battle for this land, that I am interested in being a part of."

Hideyoshi stood up, "I'm taking Nene's side here! She's the best option, and I'm willing to stand with Ignis's army in support of her!"

"Lord Hideyoshi, don't be ridiculous!" Ieyasu retorted, "Lord Ujiyasu is the most logical choice to take charge of Yaksha. We all need to stop fighting and think about this rationally."

"If everyone here was interested in thinking rationally, I wouldn't see a need to get involved." Shingen replied. "It's clear the only thing any of you will listen to is a rock wrecker to your face!"

Ginchiyo stood. "You're all being completely stupid! Isn't it obvious to you that Masamune wants us to devolve into this petulant bickering?! You're playing straight into his hands!"

"But he's not wrong." Mitsuhide lamented, "Whomever claims Yaksha as their own territory will have greater power and influence than the other warlords. Ransei can never truly be at peace if its warlords are not all equal. Nor can we have peace as long as there are those that wish to fight."

"Ugh, dramatic as always." Nō remarked.

"Oh my, all of this tension is terribly dreadful. You know what will fix this? A nice, friendly game of pokemari!" Yoshimoto cheered.

" _ **Enough!**_ "

Even over all the screaming of nearly every warlord, Ryo's voice reverberated with a powerful rumble. It wasn't often that the young man raised his voice to others, but when he wanted to be heard, he was _heard_. Perhaps it could be attributed to his connection with the Legendary Arceus. Whatever it was, it resonated with authority.

"Is this what we've devolved to?!" he demanded, letting no one in the room escape his chastising gaze. "Is this the way to repair this broken kingdom? By throwing away everything we've fought so hard to achieve, and return to the days of war?! Have none of you learned anything, after all this time?! We've been through this a hundred times, over and over and over. This fighting will _never_ accomplish _anything,_ and we know it. If it's this easy to return to our old ways, then we'll never have peace." He paused, realization dawning on him.

"You're right, Ginchiyo." he told her, "Someone _does_ want us to fight. This is exactly what Kotaro wants to happen. He wants us to fight over this territory, and bring Ransei back into war."

"To have chaos fall over the land once more." Ujiyasu pondered.

"This is exactly what he's hoping for." Ryo continued, "But that won't happen, it can't. The time for fighting is well behind us. Ransei is stronger united, and united is how we'll stay forever."

"That sure is a lovely sentiment." Masamune snarked, "But that's all you are, isn't it? An imbecile with nothing but sentimentality."

"And you're a selfish ass that thinks he's above everyone else." Ryo snapped back.

"I'm certainly above you!" he insisted, "You talk of unity and peace as though it is the path we walk upon now. But we're no closer to those ideals than we were before you took control of the 17 kingdoms, and this unrest in Yaksha only proves this. The land can never be unified as long as there is one kingdom that suffers, nor can there be peace so long as even one person has the will to fight."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but may I say something?" Everyone turned to face Lord Motonari, looking sheepishly to Lord Ryo.

"You have the floor, Lord Motonari." Ryoko said before her brother could reply.

Motonari rubbed the back of his head. "Thank you, Lady Ryoko. It's just that it seems to me, since we can't decide who is the best leader amongst ourselves to take charge of this kingdom, the wisest course of action would be to find a new warlord for Yaksha altogether. Not to mention, it just seems ridiculous to have 16 warlords for a land that has 17 kingdoms."

"It shouldn't come to bickering in order for us to reach that conclusion." Ryo commented.

"So we're just going to push this problem onto someone else, then?" Masamune asked, "Is it really the wisest course of action to bring in new blood to deal with the anarchy in Yaksha?"

"Well, not all of us became warlords in exactly ideal situations." Lady Nō remarked. "This kingdom is no worse for wear than mine was when I succeeded Spectra's former warlord, nor Dragnor before Nobunaga took power. And how many of us were made to defend our kingdoms on the very first day?"

"Nothing says we have to bring in a complete novice." Ieyasu stated, "I'm sure among all of us, we can offer up at least one general who has experience in delegating a kingdom. If it interests you, Lord Ryo, I personally can offer at least eight of my highest ranking generals for you to choose between."

"So you can rule Yaksha from the sidelines, no doubt." Masamune protested.

"I can assure you, I have no intentions of expanding my own power." Ieyasu said, looking affronted by the very suggestion.

"He has a point, though." Ginchiyo noted, "Having one of your 'highest ranking,' most trusted generals in control of Yaksha? How would that be any different than having the kingdom fall under Tokugawa control. Valora has its own history, Lord Ieyasu, and we're not ignoring that either."

"Now see here!" Ieyasu fumed, "I have never done a thing in my life for my own selfish gains! Everything I have ever done has been for the good of the people of my kingdom, and the good of Ransei!"

"Well, obviously we need to choose _someone_." Hideyoshi said, "Does anyone have a general who was born or raised in Yaksha? It would make sense to have someone with a connection to the kingdom take charge of it."

"I don't think we'll have to choose." Motonari stated, gaining everyone's attention. "In all this fighting around who to replace Kotaro with, we've overlooked an important bit of information. We've all seen Yaksha City on our way to the castle, and somehow the devastation that's impacted the rest of the kingdom has completely missed its capital city. Surely, I'm not the only one that finds this the least bit curious. Uncovering the source of this city's success may play a crucial part in helping the rest of the kingdom recover."

"Lord Motonari, you believe that Yaksha has already chosen its new warlord, don't you?" Lady Aya spoke up suddenly.

"Oh, not this garbage!" Masamune exclaimed. "We're not deciding the fate of an entire kingdom, and the people and Pokemon within it, on some old fairy tale! 'The kingdoms choose their warlords,' indeed!"

"You don't believe your kingdom chose you to lead and protect it, Lord Masamune?" Aya asked.

"I _earned_ my place as warlord of Avia! There was no 'magical force,' or divine intervention or whatever you call it that guided me there." he insisted.

"It's not magic." Nō corrected him, "It's a unique bond that we as warlords hold with our kingdoms, no different than the bonds we share with our Pokemon. We were all selected because we represent and embrace the truest parts of our kingdoms."

"I've never heard of that legend before." Ryoko said. "So it was our destinies to become warlords?"

"Destiny doesn't exist. Humans aren't created to walk a predetermined path." Nō replied, "You and your brother earned the favor of Aurora, and the kingdom embraced you as its warlords. As I said, it's exactly the bond you share with your Pokemon, but it extends to your entire kingdom."

"It's the same for all of us present." Kenshin spoke.

"So Yaksha's chosen a warlord for itself, then?" Ryo asked, "But then why aren't they here now, leading the kingdom?"

"Because the kingdoms _don't_ choose their warlords, imbecile!" Masamune snapped, "As I said, it's an old legend, told by self-righteous old men to trick the people into blindly accepting them as their leaders."

"I would think you'd be more open to the idea, Lord Masamune." Shingen said, "After all, isn't that what you desire? To have others blindly accept you as Ransei's leader without a fight?"

"I don't see how all of you can't see the answer when it's so glaringly obvious." Yoshimoto sighed, "The best way to save this kingdom is through the grace of pokemari. By letting the spirit of pokemari into their hearts, the people will surely be united."

"…And I suppose Yoshimoto also was 'chosen' by Chrysalia?" Masamune sneered.

"It's a better suggestion than anything you've offered so far!" Ryoko shot back with a scowl.

"So happy to be of help!" Yoshimoto said.

"You aren't any help at all!" Masamune shouted.

"And neither is this constant bickering!" Ryo interjects. He sighed before getting to his feet. "Alright, it's obvious to me that we're getting nowhere this way. By rule of this council, if an agreement cannot be made between at least two-thirds of the representatives, then a decision will fall to the overseer." The room went quiet as Ryo paused to think. Coming to a decision, he opened his eyes and faced the other warlords.

"I hereby officially close this meeting of the 17 kingdoms for the day. We will convene again tomorrow morning after we've all had a chance to cool down, by which time I'll have determined our course of action. I'll be seeking input from each of you throughout the day. _Separately_. It's clear to me that it will be impossible to get your council otherwise. At this time, you're all dismissed."

There was no protests from anyone in the room as the meeting came to an end. Ryo stormed out the door with haste, joined by Umbreon. and the other warlords slowly followed behind.

"What a waste of time." Masamune grumbled to his Braviary, who cawed a response. He looked at his partner in shock.

"Overreacted?! _I most certainly did not!_ " he denied.

"Well, that was certainly fun! Wasn't it, Pineco?" Yoshimoto said to his partner, "Why don't we go have ourselves a nice game of pokemari!"

"That was hardly a surprise." Ginchiyo muttered to Motonari as they exited with their Pokemon. "When has anything productive ever been accomplished with these conferences?"

"It would be hard for you to know that since this is only the second you've attended." he replied with a smile.

"M-Muneshige has kept me thoroughly updated on what transpires at these meetings!" she stammered, "I don't need to be present to know that it doesn't make a difference!"

From within the walls, she saw all of the warlords slowly exit the room. As Lord Kenshin rose and walked past her, his Gallade's head turned to her, eyes glowing violet. She ducked down to avoid it, not knowing if that would do anything or not. Couldn't psychic Pokemon just _sense_ your presence? After a while, nothing happened, and the room had gone silent. She braved another look through the crack in the wall, and saw a vacant room. It seemed that all of the warlords had left. Now she'd hopefully be safe to leave. She glanced towards her escape briefly, and when she turned her head back to double check that the coast was clear…

She found herself face-to-face with a purple figure, staring at her with a giant pair of glowing yellow eyes.

Screaming wasn't something that came easy to her, even in startling situations. Rather, the way her body chose to react to the being in front of her was to lock up, grit her teeth, and inhale a sharp breath of air through her mouth. The violet Pokemon came closer, phasing through the wall, and she fell onto her back in shock. It was the Mismagius of Spectra's warlord. It floated closer, and loomed over her in a most foreboding way. She froze, not knowing what to do. If she tried to run, she was sure the ghost-type would attack. If she stayed put, there was no doubt in her mind that she would be found out. Through the fog of panic clouding her mind, her first instinctual reaction told her to speak.

" _...Hi_." she whispered out in a voice barely audible to her own ears. " _Aren't you… pretty._ "

 _What the HELL are you doing, talking to it?!_ She internally raged at herself. _What good do you think that's gonna do, idiot?! It can't understand a damn word you say! Even if it could, the hell would calling it pretty do?! Make your death painless?_

The ghost gazed at her for a moment longer, yellow eyes boring deep into her, before ultimately letting out a mischievous snicker and turning around to phase back through the wall. The girl was only brave enough to raise her head and see if it had truly gone. She let the encounter sink in. There was no way that she had survived being discovered by a warlord's Pokemon. She struggled to push herself up to her knees, arms and legs still trembling after the encounter.

"There you are, Mismagius." she heard the voice of Spectra's warlord come through the wall, "Where did you disappear to just now?"

Screw this. She'd risked her life enough today. To hell with stealth, she was making a run for it. Scrambling for the ladder, she descended into the secret tunnels, and then bolted towards the other side. She could freak out over the fact that she had just witnessed a warlords' conference once she was far away from the castle. A castle that she vowed to herself she would never spend the night in again!

* * *

It's so good to be finished with this one; it gave me quite a bit of trouble. But there are certain parts of it I enjoy, so hopefully you do as well. For some reason, I like to keep my chapters under 11,000 words, so a small part of this chapter got cut off, but it'll mesh well with chapter 3. This story's already off to a great start. Chapter 1 ended up being shorter than I thought it would be, and now I have to cut part of Chapter 2 when I expected to have trouble reaching 10,000 words! That's a good sign...

I'm gonna get to work on Chapter 3 now. It'll be fun to write that one. Next chapter will have my favorite warlords exploring Yaksha's capital city, and finally meeting a certain trespasser in person. I'll also finally be introducing some characters very dear to my heart, so there's that to look forward to. Until then, I bid you adieu. Farewell 'til next time! R&R at your leisure.


	3. A Dark City Full of Color

So, I did that thing that I promised myself I wasn't gonna do anymore. You know, get stuck on petty things because I'm so paranoid about it being bad, trying to make my stories as perfect as possible. I had this chapter ready a long time ago, but it's been edited at least five times already. To be honest, I'm still not completely satisfied with the end product, but at this point, I'm more frustrated that I didn't put it up sooner. And since part of this chapter got carried over to the next chapter, you shouldn't expect chapter 4 to be too far off.

Even though I'm upset with myself for not getting this to you guys sooner, I'm happy I'm uploading something tonight. Things are very unstable and out of control for me while writing this, and nothing makes me smile as much as when I see someone review one of my stories. Speaking of which, a big thank you to Mephilia Venus, Arashi Nao, and StRAngE ToASt for your reviews of the previous chapter. You have no idea what that means to me. So I hope you and everyone else reading will enjoy this new chapter. We'll be exploring Yaksha's capital city, and as I promised, I'll be introducing you to three incredible characters. I won't say who, as I'm sure you'll be able to pick them out for yourselves. Just remember that first impressions aren't everything... I was a little mean with some of them, but I love them all dearly. I hope this was worth the stupidly long wait.

* * *

"Do you see how everyone's standing?"

Hearing his sister's voice broke Ryo from the daze he was in, and prompted him to look around the foyer. He saw circles of people. In one group, Motonari, Ginchiyo, Motochika, and Yoshihiro. In another, Hideyoshi, Nene, Ieyasu, Nō, and Mitsuhide. Shingen, Kenshin, Aya and Ujiyasu were talking with each other by a window. Masamune had stormed off somewhere with his Braviary, and Yoshimoto had disappeared with Pineco. And he stood with his sister and Oichi in their own corner. It hadn't escaped his noticed; everyone was grouping together just as they had during the war.

"Yeah." he replied. His gaze fell to his feet, and he slumped against the wall, tired and disillusioned. "Masamune's right; nothing's changed at all."

"Don't say that, Lord Ryo." Oichi pleaded, voice stronger and more certain than she had been faced with an entire council room of Warlords. "The two of you have done so much to bring peace to Ransei."

"Obviously not enough." he faced her, tone sharp but not harsh. "Everyone seems so willing to return to the way things were. The second there's a problem, the first instinct is to solve it with a fight."

"That's been the conventional wisdom forever in Ransei." Ryoko mentioned, "And it's going to be some time before everyone can truly accept this new peace. Old habits die hard."

Ryo glanced at her in consideration briefly, but returned his attention to the floor quickly after. "I guess." he accepted, "Even so, it feels like we're the ones letting everyone else down. The hero in the legends was supposed to bring peace to the 17 kingdoms. Some job we're doing."

Ryoko sighed, placing her hands on her brother's shoulders. "You're being way too hard on yourself, as usual." she said, forcing him to meet her eyes once more, this time holding his gaze. "Look, things got out of control in there, sure. I think both of us didn't do our best at handling things. But I think you did the right thing calling off the conference early. All of our focus has been on Yaksha and organizing this conference for the last few days. We've barely gotten any rest. It's probably been the same for everyone else, don't you think? Maybe we all just need to take a moment to stop and breathe."

Ryo gave his sister a halfhearted smile, "I think you're right, Ryoko." he agreed, "But I'm not sure Yaksha can afford for us to take that breather."

"They can't afford for the rest of Ransei to be at each others' throats, either." she rebutted sternly, and removed her hands from his shoulders, "So let's try to take this slow, and see if letting the dust settle will make things easier on everyone."

The young man sighed, running his hands through his hair. "Alright, let's see if it helps." he conceded, "Your hunches are usually right, right?" She gave an optimistic smile at that.

"We can also take this chance to go into the city and try to figure out what's been keeping it afloat without a warlord." Oichi suggested.

"I was thinking the same thing." Ryoko agreed with a nod.

Ryo threw them a skeptical look. "You're not just looking for an excuse to go shopping, are you?"

Ryoko turned back to glare at her twin. "You think I'd be concerned about shopping at a time like this?!" she demanded, "I _am_ taking this seriously, you know."

He gave a smirk at her outburst. "Come on. I saw you staring at those merchant booths while we were walking through the city."

"Well, of course I was looking! Did you expect me to walk through a crowded street with my eyes closed?" she spat. She noticed Oichi and Jigglypuff giggling at their banter. "You know, you could help me out here."

"Sorry." the pink-haired girl apologized, "It's been a while since I've seen you two fight like this." Ryo felt that there was a glint of sadness in her eyes as she made this observation. He couldn't help but be aware of the time that had passed since they had defeated Nobunaga and unified Ransei. Oichi visited Aurora quite often outside of the conferences. Obviously, though, she wasn't a daily part of their lives anymore. Despite Oichi's insistence that she was in contact with her brother, he hadn't personally seen or heard anything from Dragnor's mighty warlord since his defeat, and it didn't seem that anyone else had either. At the last conference, Ryo had gone around asking the other warlords if they'd had any contact with him. Ieyasu had stated a negative, as had Mitsuhide. When Lady Nō had admitted to knowing nothing of her former warlord's whereabouts, he decided there was no point asking anyone else. But in his absence, Oichi was left to tend to much of Dragnor's operation. It kept her away from Aurora more than she would want it to. Ryo was also under the impression that not everything between her and Nobunaga had been fully resolved yet. Being forced to stay in Dragnor so often only served to further remind her of their troubled relationship, no doubt. Compared to those stresses in her life, how refreshing it must be to just hear his and Ryoko's petty squabbles. If some halfhearted arguing was all they had to worry about, it was a good day.

"So what do you think we should do, Ryo?" His sister's voice broke him from his musings. He looked past Oichi to see the rest of the room. Some of the warlords had already gone their separate ways. He saw Mitsuhide and Lady Nō walking past them just then, making their way for the eastern corridor.

"I don't like that my partner Pokemon is keeping secrets from me, Mismagius." he vaguely heard Spectra's warlord say as she passed. Her Mismagius snickered out a vague response. Whatever she was going on about, he decided it was none of his business. It was near impossible to get a straight answer out of that woman, anyway. He saw who remained in the foyer once they left. Motonari, Hideyoshi, Nene, and the group of Shingen, Ujiyasu, Kenshin and Aya.

"I wanted input from everyone separately before tomorrow." he reminded them, "We may as well get that done while we can. We can head into the city later."

"Want to start with them?" Ryoko asked, noticing her brother was focused on the group of veterans.

"Yeah. I don't think we'll have to worry about starting anything there. Lord Shingen and Lord Kenshin prefer to save their fighting for the battlefield." he reasoned.

"Sounds good." his twin agreed. Looking between themselves to see that they were all in agreement, they walked to the other side of the room where the veteran warlords stood with their Pokemon.

"Heh, I was wondering when you'd come to chew us out." Shingen chuckled as they approached. The rest of their group glanced towards the approaching teens as well. "Not that it's undeserved; we certainly got carried away."

Ujiyasu scowled at the remark. "Of course you'd drag all of us down to make yourself look better. We weren't the ones who tried to settle things with more fighting, mind you. That goes the same for you, Kenshin, you battle-hungry fool."

"So that just leaves the two of us, then?" Aya giggled.

"You're not entirely without fault, either." Ujiyasu faced her, pointing a finger towards Kenshin. "If you decide to show up for these conferences, my dear, I expect you to keep him in check."

Ryo waved his hand dismissively. He'd spent enough time with the four of them to know that nothing would come of this exchange. "Yeah, everyone got out of control." he stated indifferently, "I didn't exactly handle things the best myself. But what we need to focus on right now is what to do about Yaksha. We're not going to solve this kingdom's problems with fighting."

Shingen nodded and crossed his arms. "Well if we intend to solve this peacefully, then giving control of Yaksha to any of the 16 remaining warlords is out of the question. It can only lead to further territory disputes, and Ransei would return to war in no time. Masamune alone would see to that." he stated.

"That's the case, unfortunately." Ujiyasu agreed. He exhaled a long sigh of frustration. "Of course, we wouldn't have to worry about this in the first place if I had been able to keep Nobunaga out of Yaksha. Had I held out long enough for you three to come in and claim it, that idiot Kotaro never would have been in the position to destroy everything."

"But it wasn't your choice to return Yaksha to him after we achieved unification." Ryo reminded him, "That was on me, entrusting the well-being of an entire kingdom to a practical stranger."

"Originally, I thought it was the right choice, too." Ujiyasu admitted, "Kotaro _does_ have a history with Yaksha beyond being its warlord. This is his home; he was born and raised here. The Pokemon of this kingdom were loyal to him. Before I met the two of you, I'd never seen anyone with a stronger bond to Pokemon. It wasn't entirely the wrong choice to entrust Yaksha to him. If I'd been keeping better track of him, maybe things would have been different."

Ryo furrowed his brow. "If all that's true, then why would he abandon this kingdom and allow the Pokemon here to suffer?" he sighed in frustration.

"What Kotaro desires is the chaos of war." Kenshin explained, "This chaos cannot be with the 17 kingdoms united. Yaksha is a small kingdom, and he doesn't have the numbers to instigate war with the rest of Ransei. He would be overpowered, and his rebellion would be easily dispelled. Were he to send assassins after the other warlords while holding Yaksha's throne, his assassins could be easily traced back to him and make him an easy target. However, by abandoning the kingdom and offering it up as free territory, he can instigate fighting amongst the other kingdoms and return Ransei to the chaos he seeks."

"I'm sure that this is only the beginning of his plans." Shingen added, "If he's in hiding, it won't be a problem to send his followers after the rest of us."

"T-to kill us, you mean?" Oichi asked with a shudder.

"Or to incite some to return to war." the masked warlord mused, "I'm sure Kotaro understands that many of the warlords still crave greater power than what they can attain under the peace treaty."

"That's not true." Ryoko protested, "The time for fighting has come to an end. We're all here because we want to work towards lasting peace across the land, for people and Pokemon alike. We're still learning how to work with each other, and this won't be the last time we'll clash, but no one wants to return to war."

Shingen sighed. "It's truly wonderful that you seek the best in everyone, Lady Ryoko. But to believe that decades of conflict can be resolved so easily is short-sighted. The time for peace is indeed upon us, but we still have a long journey before we can see it bloom. Do you two remember who took their seats across from you just now in the conference room?"

Ryo lowered his head in thought as he remembered the anarchy from before. He specifically remembered that Masamune had sat directly across from him, eyes intense as though ready for a battle.

"Masamune." he answered.

"Lord Mitsuhide and Lord Ieyasu as well." Ryoko recalled.

"That is hardly coincidence." Kenshin replied, "They will be your greatest obstacles to the peace you seek."

"What?" Ryoko queried, "Masamune maybe, but Lord Ieyasu and Lord Mitsuhide have been giving Aurora incredible support for the last few months. They want this alliance to succeed more than anyone."

"They support you _now_." Ujiyasu emphasized, "Mitsuhide has a history of indecisiveness and bad judgment. Before you two broke through middle Ransei, he'd staged a rebellion against Nobunaga. This happened only a few months after he had allied with him. If he had followed through with it, I don't doubt he would have overcome him, either. But he gave up his resistance and returned to his master. Right as he had him cornered, no less. What's to stop him from doing the same again? All it would take is for him to doubt this peace long enough to do serious damage."

"Then there's Ieyasu." Shingen carried on, "He's an honorable man, and a respectable warlord. I won't deny him that. But he is not without his weaknesses, and he has a history of bad judgments of his own. He's at his worst under pressure, and it's cost many warriors and Pokemon their lives. He cannot be moved as easily as Mitsuhide, but he moves others to walk towards disaster without even realizing it. If either of them are given the chance to let doubt enter their minds, they will convince themselves to take matters into their own hands for the sake of peace. Honestly, it would be fortunate if Masamune was the extent of our worries. He makes no attempt to hide his ambitions to rule the land, and he charges towards this dream with reckless abandon. It's important that you're aware of Ieyasu and Mitsuhide's weaknesses, because if you aren't, you won't see the signs until it's too late."

"We have all been aware of Masamune's ambition since well before Unification." Kenshin remarked, "But this is the first conference that he's made his intentions known without fear. I suspect that he was hoping for more support from the rest of us against Lord Ryo and Lady Ryoko."

"That wouldn't surprise me." Ryo sneered, "I don't get him. Does he think that plunging Ransei back into war is the way to achieve peace?"

"At some point, that boy got it in his head that he was meant to be the one to unite the 17 kingdoms under his banner." Ujiyasu said, "Unlike the _sane_ warriors in Ransei, however, he still believes that it's his destiny. Ergo, there is no real peace unless it's Masamune's peace, and Masamune's Ransei."

"If Masamune is given the chance to claim Yaksha for himself, it may cause the ambitions of the other warlords to be rekindled." Kenshin declared, "I'm certain they will fight back if the opportunity presents itself. Some to defend themselves, others to expand their own territories."

Ryo groaned. "So really, we're no closer to peace than we were before." he lamented, shoulders slumping in defeat. "How are we meant to help this kingdom if we can't get the others on the same page?"

"I still believe that Mitsuhide and Ieyasu will stand by us, even in tough times." Ryoko said with confidence, "No one wants this peace to maintain itself more than them. But Masamune needs to understand that we all have to come together in order for Ransei to be truly united. I'm worried about him." she bowed her head, looking solemnly to her Espeon. "Not only could his blind ambitions hurt others, but he could also hurt himself, too."

"Why does it matter if he hurts himself?" Ryo scoffed.

His sister glanced at him with somber eyes. "We all have each other to look out for one another. Masamune has Braviary, but I'm not sure he has anyone else. He's always so willing to push people away from him." Ryo's stance softened at that. Leave it to his sister to make him feel sorry for a jerk like Masamune. Oichi placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll get through this, for sure, Lord Ryo. All of us. Everyone is sure to find a way to come together for the sake of peace. Even Lord Masamune will surely come around."

"Let's hope so." Shingen agreed, "You three have certainly proven that you have the power to bring people and Pokemon together. It's important for you to be aware of the challenges you have to face, but really, I see no need to worry about gaining the support of the warlords. You've already done so, after all."

"Thanks." Ryoko nodded. "What's important is that we take this one step at a time. Our focus right now needs to be on finding a new warlord for Yaksha. A completely fresh face with no previous relationship to the other warlords."

"I think at this point we all agree that would be for the best." her brother said, seeing the nods of approval from everyone else in their circle. "My only concern with that is time. This kingdom's already been struggling for months now, and every day that goes by, things are only going to get worse. Who knows how long it will take to find one person out of an entire kingdom who's worthy of being its leader."

Lady Aya had been staying out of the conversation thus far, more interested with the view outside the window. Especially once a floating, violet figure made itself known. Its sudden presence before her caused the Uesugi lady to give the slightest twitch, but her eyes narrowed upon realizing just _who's_ Mismagius was looking back at her. She glanced over her shoulder, searching out Spectra's vile warlord. She expected to catch a glimpse of her in a dark corner, glaring at her with a smug smirk, no doubt reveling in her feeble attempt at spooking her adversary. Yet Nō couldn't be found anywhere she looked. She turned back to her unwanted guest, the frown on her face letting it be known that its presence wasn't welcome. She sensed Froslass was doing much the same. Mismagius's response to this, in classic ghost Pokemon fashion, was to stretch and exaggerate her face, eyes bulging and tongue sticking out at her observers. Froslass flinched back, indignant to the taunt her fellow ghost-type was throwing her. She might have responded with an attack, but Aya motioned for her to be still. She wasn't sure what to make of this display. Face-making wasn't exactly in Nō's box of tricks, far beneath her brand of devious and cruel schemes. Yet Mismagius continued the juvenile display, changing between one exaggerated expression to the next.

This went on for about a minute until the purple ghost put on a different sort of face; somewhat mischievous, but lacking a certain deviousness customary of ghost-types. It was… knowing, and expecting. In that moment, she was wordlessly trying to convey something to Aya, beyond a petty joke for her warlord's amusement. Mismagius floated down, going beyond what the lady could see from her spot at the window. But as the ghost did, something else caught her attention, or rather some _one_. A clearly female figure, tall and dressed in black. But most notable was her hair, dark brown, with black stripes. Or possibly black hair with dark brown stripes? Her back was turned, so that was all Aya could see. The woman appeared from the bushes outside. She looked around nervously, revealing her face to be covered by a black mask. When her search revealed no one outside, she ran quickly for the trees, where she became lost in the shadows. Aya felt a smile come on at the scene. To think she might have been missed if Mismagius hadn't held her interest…

"Hideyoshi had the right idea." she heard Ujiyasu saying as she focused back on the conversation, "We should be looking for someone with a connection to Yaksha. A born and raised local. Someone loyal to their kingdom, and proud of it."

"A warrior with a dark-type Pokemon would be an added bonus." Ryoko mentioned. "And a ninja, like Lady Nene said."

Ryo shook his head, "The more requirements we add on, the harder it's gonna be to find someone that fits the mold." he reminded them.

"Yeah, but it can't be just anyone, either." his sister determined, "Otherwise, we risk putting another Kotaro in power. At the very least, we should be searching for someone Yaksha-born who can connect with the dark-type Pokemon of this kingdom."

"I think that's a safe bet." her brother nodded. "Right now, Yaksha needs a leader with strong solidarity to it. Hopefully, everyone else will be as reasonable as the four of you have been, and give us some other good ideas on where to go from here."

"Speaking of where to go, you three were planning on exploring the city, yes?" Aya spoke up suddenly. The three teens were a bit startled to hear her after all this time. Ryo in particular had found it odd that she hadn't found a need to give her input on the matter. He knew that she must have _some_ opinion, and it was strange that she wasn't saying anything about it. Now when she finally does talk, it's to tell them to go into the city?

"O-of course. Once we had spoken to the other warlords." he answered.

"Good." she replied, giving an approving nod. She returned to looking out the window. "Just as Lord Motonari said, the energy in Yaksha city is much different from the rest of the kingdom. It will certainly be prudent to our search to find out what is so unique here."

Ryo nodded. "Let's hope so."

Ryoko stepped in. "Well, the sooner we track down the other warlords and talk to them, the faster we'll be able to get into Yaksha City and suss things out." she mentioned. "Thanks for your help, guys."

"Certainly, Ryoko." Aya chuckled. "The four of us were planning on heading out ourselves for a drink. We'll inform you of anything interesting we discover." Ujiyasu, Kenshin and Shingen looked between themselves. They had made no such plans as of yet.

"That's much appreciated." Ryoko smiled back.

"We'll leave you to it, then." Ryo said, giving a final wave to the group of veterans before turning. "Have a good time."

"The same to you." Aya replied, "And good luck." Once the teens had left, the remaining warlords took their leave to the residential wing of the castle.

"A bit early for a drink, isn't it?" Ujiyasu commented, perplexed by the woman's desire to suddenly go into the crowded city. While Aya carried herself well in social situations, she didn't particularly enjoy being around people. The average person wouldn't think this to be the case, but he'd been fortunate (and unfortunate, in some instances) to have a longstanding history with the Uesugi siblings.

"By whose standards?" Shingen asked, laughing at the notion.

"I suggest we leave the Pokemon here and find some more casual apparel." Aya suggested, "You three are famous, after all. We wouldn't want to attract so much attention to ourselves."

They broke apart, each going to their own rooms to prepare their own things. As Aya was about to enter her quarters, she noticed Lady Nō coming down the hallway at a brisk pace, looking everywhere and showing no interest whatsoever in the other woman. Understanding the implications immediately, the elder woman grinned.

As Nō passed her, she spoke, "I saw Mismagius flitting about outside the castle. You might want to check near the front gates, dear."

The violet-haired beauty did a double take, noticing Aya for the first time. Processing her words, she sneered. "How is it that you know of my partner's whereabouts before me?" she queried with subtle poison in her voice.

Aya smiled. "A question I intend to answer for myself." she stated, entering her room and shutting the door.

But Nō wouldn't tolerate her cryptic deflections. Over the span of half an hour, Mismagius had wandered away from her twice, and had no interest in telling her what she was up to. It was one thing for her to do this in Spectra, but in a foreign kingdom away from home, it was harder for them to keep tabs on one another. Now, of course Mismagius was fine. Even without the benefit of their link, Nō was able to say this with confidence. The uncertainly of her partner's actions, however, was inherent of a lack of control, and that would not serve. There wasn't a thing in this world that Lady Nō didn't control.

She reached for the door, about to throw it open when a blast of frigid cold emanated from the other side. _If that witch…_ Attempting to pry the door open revealed it to have been frozen shut. Aya had no interest in speaking to her any further. Her desire to control ran just as deep.

A low growl passed by her lips. Though she hated to give up the battle, especially before it even began, finding her partner took priority. Of all the vices she could brand Lady Aya with, the woman wasn't a liar. In that case, Mismagius was outside. Hopefully that silly ghost had decided to lurk under some shady tree, conserving her energy in the bright light of the afternoon. She was tempted to give Aya's door a swift kick before she made her way outside, but refrained. Don't give the woman the satisfaction of knowing your anger. You are _always_ in control.

So she left peacefully, striding with purpose towards the front gates of the castle.

~Q.N~

Shortly after, the four warlords of central Ransei had left the castle and were walking through the crowded city. Aya had certainly made the right call; in their simple yukatas, they were practically invisible to the crowds that had previously gathered just to see Kenshin and Shingen in person.

"You wouldn't think there would be so much color in the dark kingdom." Aya mused as they took in everything. The large buildings decorated with intricate graffiti art, the merchants selling all varieties of goods, the musicians that seemed to be on every corner, and the street battles that were being fought by warriors and their Pokemon, particularly ninjas. That was an equally fascinating sight, all the ninjas that were out in broad daylight. With their ghost and dark-type Pokemon, no less.

"From the looks of things, the city's having a festival." Shingen observed, "That raises the question of who planned it. To coordinate hundreds of people for an event like this is a massive undertaking, even for a warlord and their officers. And so many different people as well. Warriors, merchants, musicians, Pokemon; all have to be taken into consideration."

As they continued walking through the masses of people, they caught fragments of conversations.

Two young ladies passed by, talking about some stage show. "Can't wait for Tsukikage to perform tonight!" one said, "You _know_ she's got something special planned for Total Eclipse."

"Oh, totally!" her companion agreed, "So jealous of Miyato and Hirotami; they actually get to be _on stage_ with her!"

"How in the world did they get so lucky?!"

"It probably helps that they know how to play an instrument." the other responded with a wry smirk. The talk of an evening performance was hardly of any interest to the veteran warlords, and the conversation was quickly blotted out.

A group of several warriors passed with their Pokemon. Their conversation proved more interesting to the four. "…he's been knocking back warriors left and right since this morning. The out-of-towners don't know what hit 'em."

"You gotta be stupid to think you can beat Keitatsuo." a ninja with a Pawniard laughed, "He's the toughest warrior in the city!"

"Well, that doesn't keep Rin from trying." someone interjected, "I heard she gave him a run for his money a little while ago."

"Dragon girl? Hah! After her, that guy with the Machamp must've been a boring fight!"

Kenshin raised a brow to this passing information. "The toughest warrior in the city?" he pondered, "Perhaps we should see for ourselves."

"The ability to lead isn't weighed by one's strength." Ujiyasu dismissed.

"Of course not." Shingen agreed, "But to be acknowledged as the strongest in the entire city is something that was surely earned in some way. It's a good place to start. This Keitatsuo would no doubt be acquainted with many other great warriors in the city."

Ujiyasu considered this. "True enough." he nodded, "Well, if this tough guy's been having battles all day, chances are he's fighting around here somewhere."

They heard another passing conversation. "So I heard from Yuuki that Tsukikage was going to be performing all week. Maybe we'll actually get a chance to meet her in person!"

"Don't get your hopes up." his friend told him. "I've only ever seen Tsukikage when she's on stage singing for a crowd. _I've_ never even talked to her, and I've played base for _three_ of her concerts."

"Seriously?! She doesn't even show up to _rehearse_? How do you guys practice?"

Aya began to notice an interesting pattern after a while. "Have you noticed that we seem to be out of place?" the Illusio lady wondered, looking around. The others did the same, and noticed what she was getting at. The majority of the people walking around right now were teenagers and young adults no older than their mid-twenties. There were some older people out as well, but there was a very clear youth culture taking place here.

One young man who passed by then met eyes with Aya. He winked, and gave a flirty smile. "Hey, beautiful." he said, before carrying on his way. Kenshin scowled, and Ujiyasu shared a laugh with Aya.

"Doesn't look like you stand out so much." Cragspur's warlord remarked. When this statement wasn't met with a witty rebuttal, he turned and noticed their female companion making her way towards one of the stands. "Oh, what's she up to now?" He muttered, prompting Kenshin and Shingen to stop and look as well.

"Should we be worried?" Shingen questioned.

"Depends. Do you mean for her or for us?" Ujiyasu replied.

"I'm more concerned for us at the moment." the masked warlord confessed. Kenshin nodded in agreement.

While they waited for her to return, a battle taking place nearby caught their attention. They were lucky enough to find themselves at a good vantage point to watch. The battle had a Beartic facing off against a Zweilous. The Beartic's warrior commanded an icicle crash attack from it. The frigid attack struck the twin-headed Zweilous head-on, a deadly move for a dragon-type Pokemon to endure. Yet the observing crowd gasped in amazement as the dark dragon shook it off as if it was nothing. The Beartic and its warrior were shocked as well, clearly unnerved by this show of might. Seeing their opportunity, the Zweilous and its warrior took to the offensive, and with a brutal strike of sword and crunch attack alike, their opponents were brought onto their backs in defeat.

"Impressive young warrior, that one." Shingen observed as the three warlords took note of the victor. He was a tall young man, looking to be in his late teens. He had spiked ash brown hair, and piercing gray eyes that brimmed with steely determination. He was dressed from head to toe in black, most prominently a hooded, tattered jacket which appeared to have had the sleeves ripped off of it. The armor he wore was studded with spikes, as well as his leather boots. Hanging over his chest was a medallion with the insignia of Ransei, a symbol that was customary for warriors to wear. On his back were sheathed twin katana, perhaps an homage to the Pokemon that was his partner. His lips were coiled in a triumphant smirk over his latest victory. There was no doubt to be had that he was a Yaksha native.

The roar of the crowd erupted as the battle came to an end. Some voices could be heard over the applause.

"That was incredible! That Zweilous _destroyed_ Beartic, even at a massive type disadvantage!" One little kid shouted to his friends.

"Oh, _come on_! Does this guy _ever_ lose?!" one man shouted. It seemed that he had just lost money on whatever bet he had made with the two men gloating next to him.

A ninja standing close by the disguised warlords called out to the winner, "Hey, Keitatsuo! How many victories does this make today?!" The three exchanged glances amongst themselves. So, this was the so-called strongest warrior in Yaksha City. The mighty Keitatsuo.

Keitatsuo glanced his way. "This guy makes 11!" he yelled back in a deep baritone. "Zweilous and I are aiming for 20 by the end of the day!" Zweilous growled in agreement at this statement, the left head snapping its jaws in anticipation of its next opponent. "So how 'bout it, Sanichi? You and Scraggy feel like being number 12?"

"Hah! Man, you've kicked my ass so many times, I can't sit right!" the ninja chortled, "We'll pass, thanks. We've got to be in top shape for Tsukikage's concert tonight. My lady needs me, you know."

Keitatsuo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Run away; go get ready for your little dance routine." he mocked, waving his companion away. He returned his attention to the rest of the crowd. "Alright, anyone else want to challenge the strongest duo in Yaksha?" he asked, scanning the crowd. A few warriors began to challenge the young man, shouting over each other for his attention. He looked over each of them with mild boredom, before his eyes locked onto the trio of warlords. His gaze stuck on them for a moment, and the three returned the challenge with passive confidence. Between the three of them, Keitatsuo couldn't decide which he was more interested in.

"How 'bout you three?" he gestured to the group. Several warriors in the crowd voiced their disappointment at not being selected to battle the powerful young warrior. "You guys look like you'd be a challenge for us." His eyes happened to meet with Kensin's at that moment, and they held his attention. The eyes of Illusio's warlord burned with the desire for battle, eager to test the might of the boy for himself. A truly worthy opponent was not something the God of War found often beyond his nemesis. He could sense that the will to fight was strong in this young warrior, and that he could sense the same in Kenshin. He took a step close, ready to fight, Pokemon or no.

Shingen stepped in his path, grinning at the boy. "Ah, I'm afraid you have us mistaken, young man." he chuckled, "We're not warriors; just tourists who came for the festival."

Keitatsuo wasn't moved. "Don't try to bullshit me, old man." he replied, "I know you're warriors, and damn powerful ones at that. The only warriors I'm interested in fighting. So where are your Pokemon?"

"Not with us at the moment." Ujiyasu spoke up, glaring down at the kid. Keitatsuo faced him then, studying the no-nonsense glower Cragspur's warlord was hitting him with.

"What kind of warriors travel without their Pokemon?" he spat.

Ujiyasu didn't miss a beat. "The ones that don't want to humiliate brats like you by beating them into the ground."

The onlookers closest to them went quiet, some of the younger observers letting out a low murmur of "Ooooh's." Keitatsuo, however, didn't seem phased by the response. He and Ujiyasu stared each other down for a moment, neither one flinching from their place. When this exchange ended, Keitatsuo chuckled and gave a nonchalant shrug.

"Ah, well." he said, "No point having a battle if Zweilous'd have to sit out, I suppose. If you geezers change your mind, I'll be around. I'll be expecting a battle if I bump into you again, though. Make sure you have your Pokemon with you by then." He then pointed randomly into the crowd. "Hot girl with the Fraxure, you're up!"

With an excited "YES!", one girl with pigtails pushed through the crowd into the battle circle, her dragon Pokemon right behind her and looking just as energized.

"I hope you two are as tough as you look." the trio of warlords heard Keitatsuo say as they began to walk away from the fight.

"You bet we are!" the female warrior responded, "And we're gonna be the ones to end your winning streak!"

"Looks like the city's strongest warrior's just another kid with a swollen head." Ujiyasu remarked as they made their way back to Aya. "Are you two as sick of running into those fools as I am?" A lack of response from his companions prompted him to turn and see the two silent and in thought.

"I wouldn't be so dismissive." Kenshin spoke. He heard the uproarious crowd behind him as Keitatsuo and Zweilous took the brunt of a dragon claw, brushing the damage aside to overpower their opponent and go on the offensive, same as they had done in the previous fight. "There is much raw ability in that young warrior, and a desire to prove himself."

"We should know the dangers of such ambition by now." Cragspur's warlord corrected him. "The last thing Yaksha needs is to have some reckless, battle-hungry fool in power."

Shingen shook his head. "The boy certainly talks big, but look beyond that for a moment. The bond he and his Pokemon share is unmistakeable. If that Zweilous trusts him enough to take the full force of an attack without question, and the strength to resist damage as it did, it's the sign of a great warrior."

"And he was able to recognize us as strong warriors without realizing our identities." Kenshin added, "A sign of sharp instincts."

"But as a _warlord_." Ujiyasu reminded them, "Do you honestly think a kid like that can be trusted with an entire kingdom?"

"Perhaps not as a warlord, but he would certainly be an asset to Yaksha with his strength." Kenshin stopped upon seeing a smiling Aya approaching them. One hand held a paper bag, while the other was searching around inside it for something. He smiled. "What he needs is a purpose that he can devote himself and his strength to."

Ujiyasu noticed her, and couldn't help a grin of his own. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to wander off, young lady?" he chided playfully. The smirk left him as Aya placed a mask over his eyes, covering up the top half of his face.

"Seeing as we're in the city of ninjas while a festival is taking place, I thought it would be appropriate for us to wear masks." she explained, moving on to give one to her brother and Shingen as well. Cragspur's warlord grunted his disapproval, before removing the obstruction from his face. Turning the mask over in his hands revealed…

"A _Magikarp_?!" he exclaimed, noting the headgear's resemblance to a certain pathetic red fish. He looked up to find Kenshin wearing a mask fashioned to look like the legendary Pokemon Lugia, while Shingen was quickly swapping out his own mask for one that took inspiration from Entei. Of course she would. Kenshin only allowed himself a small smirk, but Shingen didn't hold back any laughter at their fellow warlord's expense.

"Alright, Aya, that's taking it a bit too far!" he told her, but continued to laugh regardless. Aya glanced over at Ujiyasu as she finished adjusting her own Mawile-inspired mask on her face.

"Whoops. Seems I bought one too many." Aya chuckled, glancing over his shoulder at the mask she'd given him. She brought out one final mask from the bag, holding it in front of him. " _This one_ , I got for you, Ujiyasu."

"You think you're real cute, don't you?!" Ujiyasu fumed as he took the real mask she had bought for him, placing it on without hesitation. Terrakion. Now that, he could live with. They continued on their way, walking through the large throngs of people and observing the sights. After a while of strolling around the city, they noticed something peculiar. Every street band that they passed played the exact same songs, perfectly timed with one another. When one song ended, the bands all began the next one in perfect sync. It was almost as if the entire city was singing.

"Coordinating all of these musicians to perform in such precise harmony must have taken quite the strategic mind." Aya mused, impressed by the talent around them.

"Hey, isn't that Teiko Risaa?" Ujiyasu asked, pointing over to a blue-haired young woman being followed by a large mob of people, mostly younger girls.

"Who?" Kenshin asked.

"She's a famous singer from Cragspur." Ujiyasu replied, watching as she signed autographs while she walked. "Some of her most popular songs are 'Shooting Star,' 'Grayscale,' 'Eternal Slumber,' and 'Ghost of a Rapidash.'

Aya grinned. "I wouldn't have thought you to be a fan of such new age music, Ujiyasu." she chuckled.

Ujiyasu rolled his eyes. "I'm not. Kai happens to love her. She sings her damn songs all the time. I know every song that woman's ever written, and I don't even like her music."

"And would you look over there! It's Roruta Watosu!" Shingen excitedly pointed out, drawing their attention to an attractive blonde woman carrying a shamisen with her. She had an equally large following of people around her while she walked by.

"Is it?" Aya asked, "My, what would draw such a talented singer to come to Yaksha at a time like this?"

"So who is she?" Kenshin and Ujiyasu chorused.

Shingen was the one to answer this time, "She happens to be the biggest star in Terrera right now. She's performed at the castle several times for various events."

"So I take it Kunoichi is a big fan of hers?" Ujiyasu guessed.

"I'm sure she is," Shingen replied, "But I happen to have all of her albums. She's the best singer I've heard since Nyashi Inukuwa."

"No one can compare to Nyashi." Ujiyasu protested, "Seriously, Shingen? You can't really be into that girly drivel."

"Do _not_ refer to Roru-chan's music as 'drivel.'" Shingen snapped, "She is the voice of a generation."

"Roru-chan?" Ujiyasu repeated, nose scrunching in disgust. "Ugh, if anyone asks, I don't know you."

Shingen threw the disgruntled rock warlord a smirk, "Now, Ujiyasu, you don't need to be a hater."

Aya laughed, "Well, it's just as Roruta says: ' _I got too much on my plate to be dealin_ _g_ _with your hate.'_ "

" _And the ones that got the time to hate don't got the time to be great!_ " Shingen continued with a smile.

"Oh, for all that's good in this world, shut up!" Ujiyasu pleaded.

" _So do both of us a favor, favor, favor, and stop being such a h_ _ater-_ _h_ _a_ _-h_ _a_ _-hater._ " Aya continued unperturbed.

"Ok, I'm done." Ujiyasu proclaimed, walking away from the two badly singing warlords.

"Where are you going?" Shingen asked, still laughing.

"We came out here to get a drink, and if I'm gonna be able to deal with you three, I'm gonna need a drink." he explained, looking around for the nearest bar.

Shingen chuckled, turning to Aya. "Just like old times." he remarked.

"It's been ages since we've been able to annoy him like this." she agreed. "Well, I could use a drink myself. What about you, brother?" Turning around revealed that Kenshin was nowhere to be seen.

"I wager he's had enough of us as well!" Shingen chortled, pointing over to Ujiyasu. Aya could see her brother walking side by side with him.

"He surely must have if Ujiyasu is the more tolerable one to be around." she observed through a fit of giggles. "But he's not getting away from me that easily." The two began to walk a bit faster to catch up with their companions, just as they had made their way to one building and were about to enter. Walking around Roruta's exuberant fans, they caught several shouts from the crowd.

"Roru-chan! Is it true that you're the opening act for Tsukikage tonight?!"

"You two should totally do a duet together! I'd love to hear her singing one of you songs with you!"

"I'm not opening tonight, unfortunately." she answered, "But I'd totally sing with her if she was cool with it. I wouldn't have even _known_ about the Total Eclipse Festival if she hadn't told me."

"Oh my gosh!"

"That would be sooooo cool!"

Tsukikage's the best!" the fans continued to cheer as they passed by.

"Tsukikage." Aya repeated, "I've been hearing that name all day."

"Must be a famous local singer." Shingen dismissed with a shrug.

"So I gathered. All this fuss for a singer, though." she mused, "She must be talented." The girl in question was quickly forgotten about as they caught up with Kenshin and Ujiyasu. _Dragon's Den_ was written on the outside of the establishment they had stopped at. The walls of the building had been covered by several illustrations of Charizards, and a few Hydreigon battling it out with them. The two Pokemon seemed to have been drawn by different artists. Three different comments had been graffitied onto the wall over the paintings. One crudely wrote in bright purple kanji: _Stop painting over my work, Keitatsuo!_ The three male warlords exchanged a glance at the name. Underneath it was written in a different hand and deep red ink: _**Real**_ _dragons, represent!_ The paw print of a Zweilous was next to this message. These two messages had been circled in black, and a line going off of this circle directed the observer's gaze to the final message, written in an elegant script: _Bad dragons!_ _No_ _fighting!_ Lounging just next to the entrance was a Charmeleon. Maybe it was the mascot for the restaurant? The lizard Pokemon noticed the group staring at it. Oddly enough, it responded positively to this attention by sticking its tongue out and wagging its fiery tail.

"I hope we're not in the wrong neighborhood." Ujiyasu remarked as they walked inside. Despite all the… aggressive graffiti on the outside, the inside of the bar was rather mundane. Tables and chairs set up as you'd expect, some simple niceties and decoration, a few people sitting down and talking, a small stage area set up for musicians to play, and of course the actual bar. Working behind the bar were two women. The oldest appeared to be in her forties, and had dark hair and brown eyes, dressed in a plain yukata, and was busying herself washing glasses. The younger girl was something else entirely. The left half of her head had been completely shaved, while the right sported short black hair that fell over her blue eyes. Her tall and lanky frame was dressed in a wild amalgamation of colors and patterns, that somehow all came together harmoniously. While she wore no jewelry to speak of, a bowtie was wrapped around her neck. She decorated her face with an upbeat smile as she went around preparing drinks.

The older woman noticed the group, and flashed a smile their way. "Good afternoon; welcome to the Dragon's Den!" she said, "Come on in and have a seat wherever you like." They chose to take their seats at the mostly empty bar. There was only one other person present, seated a little bit away from them. A short female, dressed in traditional ninja apparel, with some noteworthy alterations. While she wore the dark robes, the dominant color across her armor was bright, fiery orange. Judging by the Charizard mask worn over her face, and the clawed boots on her feet, the intention was to emulate the dragon Pokemon's appearance. She even had a "tail" in the form of a yellow and orange sash wrapped around her waist. That Charmeleon outside most likely was her partner. Penetrating blue eyes glared out from beyond the mask, and her wavy hair ranged from a bright orange on her right, and split to be an elegant violet on her left. She was chatting with the young woman behind the bar.

"…I parried _both_ his swords, and managed a kick to his side. As hard as I could, mind you." they overheard the husky voice of the ninja as she retold her battle to the young waitress. "You know what happens next? He gives me that Arceus-forsaken, smug-ass smirk of his, as if to say he _let_ me kick him, gets out of the hold I had him in, and pins me to the ground. I see Charmeleon go flying, both his swords appear at my throat, and Gozuo calls the battle. _I had him, Yuuki_! I had him! And last time, and the time before that, and the time before that!"

"Sure ya did, Rin!" a ninja called across the room. She turned on him and his chuckling friend with fire in her eyes.

"You want a claw to the face, loser?!" she shouted, raising a spiked glove to her hecklers.

"Do you want to be banned from the bar again, Rin?" the older woman at the bar asked with a scowl. The masked girl changed her tone quickly, sitting down with a pout.

"Don't take it so hard." Yuuki reassured her, passing her another drink. "You're one of the best fighters around here."

"I _am_ the best!" Rin shot back. "The best dragon warrior in Ransei. I have _actual_ dragon blood running through my _veins_ , Yuuki! I shouldn't be losing to someone like _Keitatsuo._ "

"Uh-huh. Well, I got a job to do, so you'll have to drown your sorrows alone for a while." Yuuki excused herself from their conversation and went over to the masked warlords.

"Good afternoon, folks. Those are some sweet masks." she greeted.

"Thank you, young lady." Aya replied.

"I saw those over by Sugori's place on my way over here. I gotta pick up one for myself later. That Yamamuchi, he does some incredible work."

"Yuuki, I don't mind you talking with the customers, but you better be working while you do it." The older woman said over her shoulder.

"Yes, Miss Satorei!" Yuuki agreed quickly, "So what can I getcha?"

"A round of sakes for all of us, miss." Shingen answered.

"Coming right up, sir!" she agreed, "And just Yuuki will do." She walked over to a shelf where an assortment of wine bottles were kept.

"Ah, shoot." she muttered, walking over to a door leading to the back. "Hey, Daishu!" she called, "We're out of sake up front! Could you bring a bottle out with those two meals?!"

"What?!" returned a male voice, "Argh, I gotta do everything around here, don't I?!" There was obvious sarcasm in this exclamation.

"Yeah, I know!" Yuuki responded with equal sarcasm as an older, balding man came out carrying two steaming plates of food, and a full bottle of sake. Yuuki quickly took the bottle from him. "I mean, what are you, the owner or something?" The two shared a laugh as Daishu set the plates down at a table where two ninjas were sitting.

"Here ya go, boys." he said quickly, "Enjoy."

"Thanks, Daishu! Looks great as always!" one of them said before digging in with his friend.

"So, would I be safe in assuming that you're all here for the festival?" Satorei asked as Yuuki handed her the sake and she started pouring some for their newest customers.

Aya was the one to respond, "Actually, we were just passing through. We arrived in the city this morning, and were completely taken by surprise by all this."

"You don't say." Satorei replied as Yuuki began to hand the group their drinks. "You know, I was expecting more answers like that, but you're the first ones I've talked to today that didn't come to attend the festivities. Seems like all of Ransei knew about our little celebration."

Yuuki grinned, "I told you the Total Eclipse Festival was gonna be a big deal." she chimed in.

Satorei chuckled. "Well, I'm okay with being proven wrong." she admitted, "It's given us more business than we've had in a long time, so I'm not complaining. Besides, you kids deserve the success after all the hard work you put into making this happen."

"Well, you'll have to forgive our ignorance on the matter." Aya stated, "Though it was a pleasant surprise to happen upon. We'd heard that Yaksha was in a bind after Lord Kotaro disappeared."

"Well, things are certainly far from good." Satorei confessed, "Everyone's struggling in their own way, especially the farther you get from Yaksha City. We had to cut our visit with my husband's sister short when we went to see her in the next town over. Things have gotten so bad there… I'd rather not go into detail. If you were traveling by foot on your way here, I'm sure you saw for yourself."

"I sure did." Ujiyasu said, taking a long drink from his glass.

"But with everything Yaksha's going through right now, is this really an appropriate time to be having a celebration on this level?" Shingen asked.

"I certainly wouldn't have thought so." the woman agreed, "Who has time to plan a festival when everyone's struggling to get by day to day? But when Tsukikage suggested it, the young people in the city rallied around the idea, and everyone stepped up to make it happen."

"Tsukikage?" Aya questioned, sharing glances with the others. There was that name again. The same one they had been hearing all over the city today.

"A local singer and artist." their host explained, "She started performing about two years ago, and has become something of a local icon."

"She's awesome." Yuuki chimed in.

"Yeah, she is!" one of the ninjas sitting in the corner shouted, his companion accenting this statement with a, "Tsukikage is life!" The Zubat and Sandile with them seemed to mirror these sentiments.

"So the entire city put this together just because an artist suggested they should?" Shingen asked, "Why put so much effort into such a whim? Is she a warrior?"

Satorei paused for a moment, "Well, I don't believe so. The wild Pokemon love her music, but I've never actually seen her with a particular Pokemon. Yuuki, you've sung with her before, right? Do you know if she's a warrior?"

Yuuki shook her head, "No, she's just really awesome." she said with a grin. "You know, like me." A roar of laughter came from the back following this proclamation. Yuuki turned to glower in the direction of the uproar, unamused. " _Yes_ , Daishu, I _am_ awesome, thank you very much!" she assured, despite the soft chuckles of the bar patrons joining in Daishu's amusement. She shook her head, and carried on despite all the sass coming her way.

"But Tsukikage doesn't need to be a warrior to be awesome. She is a master of showmanship." she explained, her voice taking on a spooky, mysterious tone, "You'll know of her arrival by the howling of the Houndour, and the Murkrow flying over the city. She only comes around once every few weeks to do a single show. But after that, she'll disappear without a trace until her next performance. Her stage name is 'Tsukikage,' but no one knows her true identity. She always wears a mask, concealing her face. You'll only know it's her if you see her black striped hair."

Aya perked up at this tidbit of information. "Interesting." she said, her smile turning mysterious, something that wasn't lost on her companions.

"Now why does that sound so familiar?" Shingen mused, wondering where he had heard that before.

Ujiyasu scoffed. "Seriously? What is she, an entertainer or a ghost?"

Yuuki shrugged. "Yeah, I know it sounds ridiculous just saying it, but trust me, her concerts are like, the greatest thing ever!" she assured the skeptic, "You can't leave Yaksha City until you've seen one for yourself. _Everyone_ comes out to watch her perform. She usually only does one show every month or two, but I heard that she'll be making an appearance every single night this week for Total Eclipse. She's gonna be on stage with some of the hottest bands in Ransei!" Those present in the bar began to cheer and applaud at this. The ninja at the bar stayed silent, but grinned nonetheless.

"And hopefully, she'll decide to make an appearance at our restaurant." Satorei said, gesturing over to the stage in the back. "We got such a huge boost in business the last time she was here, we decided to use some of the money to put in a stage just for her whenever she decides to perform for us."

"Even with times as hard as they are, people will still come and pay to hear this lady sing?" Ujiyasu asked.

"That's why she performs at businesses, after all. It helps keep the city going." Yuuki explained, "Since Lord Kotaro took off, she's been using her shows to keep local business flowing and everyone's spirits high. That's why she wanted this festival to happen so badly. Even with everything going wrong in the kingdom right now, people from all over Ransei have come to the city, and they've brought money to it, especially with all the famous names coming to support Yaksha in this crisis. Lately, her songs have been more about Yaksha, too."

"It sounds like she really loves this kingdom." Shingen offered.

"She absolutely does." Satorei agreed without hesitation, "And Yaksha City certainly loves her back. She's brought a lot of light to the city in these bleak times."

The talk of Tsukikage was brought to a halt as Rin's Charmeleon ran in with an excited cry. It raced past the disguised warlords (jumping onto the bar and knocking over their drinks in the process) and to its own warrior. Satorei raced over to her customers, swiftly apologizing as she rushed to clean up the mess and get them replacements on their drinks. Rin gasped, and her face lit up in a mischievous grin. Charmeleon slid into her arms and licked her face from chin to masked forehead.

"She's on her way?" she repeated with poorly-hidden enthusiasm.

"Char." her partner confirmed with a nod.

"Let's get going, buddy." she instructed, getting up from her seat.

Satorei shook her head. "You're paying for any damage done to my bar, young lady." she told the ninja as she jumped up to the ceiling of the room, disappearing into the shadows. Meanwhile, her Charmeleon raced away, jumping out a nearby window, much to the apparent surprise of the people outside.

"What's all this about now?" Shingen asked while Satorei poured them new drinks.

"Ah, sorry about all that." she said, "We get some very… strange customers around here. I'll certainly think very carefully about naming my restaurants in the future. No charge on these refills, by the way."

Yuuki laughed. "We're expecting a friend of ours to show up." she explained, "Rin wants to surprise her."

"Don't anybody give me away!" Rin's voice came from seemingly nowhere.

"Says the ninja shouting for everyone to hear." Yuuki muttered with a chuckle.

"… _Shut up_." Rin whispered back.

Satorei rolled her eyes. "Well, I suppose I should make Mitsubachi her usual. Arceus knows the poor girl's going to need it."

The name drop caught the attention of Ujiyasu. He had mostly been absorbed in his own thoughts thus far, but the girl's name sparked recognition. Mitsubachi. Not a common name, but it couldn't be the one he was thinking of. Yet curiosity got the better of him. "That wouldn't happen to be Mitsubachi Kurokami, by any chance?" All eyes turned to him as he asked this, and Satorei went especially quiet. The sudden shift in energy wasn't lost on any of the warlords.

"Oh… So you're familiar with the Kurokami house, sir?" The question was voiced with a poorly-hidden tone of discomfort, spoken with intentional quietness.

Ujiyasu was prepared to give an offhanded explanation of being acquainted to one of Lord Mako Kurokami's brothers. It wouldn't be a lie, anyway. He doubted he was right about this in the first place, so it hardly mattered. Though he wondered why he would ask in the first place. Yes, he _knew_ the Kurokami house, but he wasn't exactly close to Lord Mako and his wife. He knew nothing about their eldest daughter beyond her name…

 _Dark brown eyes shining with moonlight…_

The hazy image faded as someone entered the building, casting their shadow as the light from outside struck them. Recalling his vision from a moment ago, Ujiyasu shook his head. Where the hell had _that_ come from? He knew he was getting old, but surely he wasn't going senile already. He decided to blame it on the alcohol, and glanced to the new arrival at the door. One quick look, and he was about to return to his drink. Well, guess it wasn't the Mitsubachi he thought of after all. But another thought entered his mind, and it caused him to do a double take.

Looking like that, this certainly wasn't Mako Kurokami's eldest daughter. But the person standing at the door did give him a strange wave of nostalgia. She reminded him of a young lady he'd had the privilege of knowing in his youth. Dark clothes, pale skin and all. He wagered that Aya was getting the same sense of déjà vu, feeling her suddenly freeze up from next to him.

Though from her standpoint, it was probably more like looking in a mirror.

* * *

Oh, where to start? Probably with the part that either made you laugh or cringe, depending what kind of person you are. At some point, I got it in my head that Shingen would be into whatever trendy pop music is popular with your stereotypical teenagers, and Kenshin and Ujiyasu would just _hate_ him for it. You know, your Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift (spoilers: I have no idea what's popular right now). Actually, that song that I swear I put no effort into is meant to be a spoof of _Shake It Off,_ if that wasn't obvious. And Aya just sort of keeps up with the times. It's also a good way for me to mention that I'll be incorporating different elements from different time periods into this story, combining feudal Japanese aesthetic with more "modern" technology. The best way to describe it is to compare it to the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. There will be things like phonographs, retro microphones, music and fashion from _several_ time periods and cultures, and so on. I hope that doesn't bother anyone, as its been my vision of Ransei for quite some time now. Oh yeah, and Shingen, Ujiyasu, Kenshin and Aya are wearing their yukatas from what I believe is the costume DLC for SW4 Empires. So you can look that up if you're curious. If not, I'll probably draw them walking around Yaksha City eventually. _Sigh._ Eventually...

Moving on to the newly introduced characters. Keitatsuo, Yuuki and (sort of) Rin are all inspired by three of my best real-life friends, and how they were inspired will become more apparent as the story progresses. Rin is slightly different, as she's not only inspired by my best friend and favorite non-blood sister, but she's also inspired by her original character (at least her humanoid form). I'll be posting character designs for them up on my DA page so you have a better idea of what they look like beyond my terrible descriptions, complete with their warrior stats and everything! Keep in mind that just because they were inspired by people I know, they're not 100% accurate representations. Because if they were, they would probably be very boring characters (no offense to my amazing, awesome friends!) Next chapter, we'll get a better look into their characters, and their relationship with a certain someone...

If I feel that I need to go back and fix anything, I'll be sure to do it. But I hope this was able to give someone a little bit of happiness when they read it. It helped make me feel better about something I'm dealing with while proofreading it. Probably because it reminded me of how much I love my friends. Have a great day, everyone! R&R at your leisure.


	4. What A Familiar Scene

Hi, I'm back! Sorry for the long wait. I have rewritten this chapter about five different times, and not once was I satisfied with how it was coming out. I actually cut a large part of it out that will likely end up becoming it's own one-off fanfic. It was nothing important, just a flashback scene that I thought would be cool to show the parallels between the four warlords, and the four Yaksha teens. This chapter is all about showing how similar they are, after all. Not only was this bumming me out, but I've also been busy working on several serious projects for myself. A few original stories, and one other thing that I won't mention on here (because honestly, it's kind of lame :P).

Anyway, this is going to be a dialogue-heavy chapter, mainly characters talking to each other over some drinks. Last chapter was about introducing three of my original characters and establishing their personalities. This chapter is about establishing the relationship that they have with one another, as well as with my dear Mitsubachi. Far as I've seen, you all seem to like my characters. I'm glad. Like I said before, they were loosely inspired by three of my closest friends. :)

I hope that this chapter was well-worth the wait! See you at the end!

* * *

 _Haven't I seen you somewhere before?  
_ _Casting your shadow on the floor;  
_ _This feels like fate, it feels like a dream;  
_ _What a fa-mil-iar scene!_

 _Those dark eyes really strike a chord;  
_ _You've got this look I can't ignore;  
_ _I've got a feeling where you've been;  
_ _What a fa-mil-iar scene!_

Aya thought back to the conference earlier. The old legend of the warlords chosen by their kingdoms had been brought up. She recalled Lady Nō's response when Ryoko asked if they had been destined to lead their kingdoms. _Destiny doesn't exist. Humans aren't created to walk a predetermined path._ She had been tempted to speak up and correct her, but thought better of it; there had been enough tension in that room as it was. The latter half of that statement was true enough, but her agreement with Spectra's warlord diverged with the former. Life was not designed to be a single, straight road surrounded by an empty void. That was the power of the human spirit: The ability to create one's own path from nothing, the power of choice. This was not to say that things didn't have an order to them, a delicate yet infallible balance which protected against the anarchy that such power could bring with it. Humans made their choices, for better or worse, and the world adapted as needed. When things were out of place, they had a way of righting themselves, and it seemed that even the worst of tragedies held purpose to them. Aya herself had plenty of experience with this.

In Cragspur, determined this time to run away for good. Who finds her but her least favorite admirer. By the next morning, she's made the first real friend in her life, and he's convinced her to have courage and return home. It wasn't long after that Kenshin became warlord.

In Terrera, allowing her brother to drag their entire army down for a battle she could care less about, but at least he was happy. Shingen greets them not with swords and pokemon, but a winning smile, a bottle of fine imported wine, and a phonograph with a collection of bad music. She had almost chosen to grab Kenshin and leave, but decided to stay for what would become the best afternoon she'd had in years. They came for a battle, and left with a new-found friendship and two unlikely allies.

On a snowy mountain in Nixtorm, in a merciless blizzard. When given the choice between a frozen death and a dagger hidden beneath her robes, a third option toddled her way in the form of a little Snorunt. It takes her to shelter, where she found Kenshin and his Kirlia, come all that way to find her. She waits out the storm in a cave with the pokemon that would become her lifelong partner, and the brother whom she would devote her entire life to.

In Illusio, on a day like any other. Kenshin was off in Terrera, having yet another battle with his dear nemesis. She would of course always be there for her little brother, but he no longer needed a guardian. He had found his purpose, and she needed to find another for herself. She pondered on this as he came into her life, the dear boy that would become her protege.

Across a lifetime of hardships, whenever she found herself lost and in doubt, something had always been close by to clear the fog and point her ahead. Fate came in many forms, and she liked to think that it was her dear mother, still watching over her. Yet she never felt carried. The choice to follow these guides was always hers to make, and she had plenty of experience ignoring fate's call. Ironically, the lady of Spectra was a fine example of this. Aya had endeavored to see the purpose in their meeting, but there was only so much grief she could take. Whatever plan the forces that be may have had, she simply wasn't up for the challenge. She had chosen to carve her path as far away from that woman as possible.

Now again, she searched for the purpose. Over the years, she had learned the signs, and knew what to pay attention to. This time, fate had no intentions of being subtle. The old phonograph on the far side of the _Dragon's Den_ , which she had previously ignored, caught her attention with a song that she hadn't heard in _decades_. A song that brought her back to an afternoon in Terrera, full of drinks and laughs and song, the first of many. It was a fond memory, but not one she had thought of in ages.

Then a young lady walks in, wearing all the charisma of your run-of-the-mill, angst-ridden teenager. Even in the heavy humidity of Yaksha's summer, she was bundled head to toe in loose-fitting, tattered black garments. A hooded jacket a size or two too big, with the left sleeve completely torn away. The exposed arm was still covered by a sleeve of fishnet. The intact right sleeve of the jacket went down to cover her entire arm to her fingertips. Her pants were in equally poor shape, a massive tear in the left completely exposing the knee and the barest hint of skintight shorts beneath. Her leather boots appeared designed for combat, with spikes protruding from them just above the toes. A leather satchel was carried over her shoulder, and she clutched the strap tightly with one of her gloved hands, clearly defensive of the contents within. Most of her face was shrouded in shadows by her hood, and whatever hair she had was completely pulled up and out of sight. The girl was… typical. Plain. Unimpressive. Certainly nothing Aya hadn't seen before.

It was the hood that caught her attention first, the thing that earned the young lady more than a passing glance. If she had to guess as to what the girl looked like beneath, she felt that she could answer with near certainty. After the hood, it was her body language. Based on her appearance, Aya would have initially guessed ninja, but when she really looked at her, it became clear this wasn't the case. The girl's height and posture revealed someone too clumsy and slow for the trade. Her body language showed that she had no confidence. She was hesitant and doubting and… and hating. Without words, her aura was asking, _begging_ anyone who glanced her way to look past her, ignore her existence. The awkward shuffling of her feet, and the arms raised not only to clutch at her satchel, but also to shield her from sight. These actions told a story the Illusio lady was quite familiar with. The more she looked, the more that she was connecting with. There was a little bit of Kenshin there, she thought with fond nostalgia. More than that, she was seeing a lot of herself. What reminded her of Kenshin was endearing, but the aspects of herself that came through were those she'd rather forget. Her struggles, her weakness.

The girl brought up another memory for Aya. The dream she had the night before they departed for Yaksha. The one which prompted her to accompany Kenshin in the first place…

The stars were quickly coalescing, and striking her with all the blunt force of a hyper beam to the face. She could only assume it was because if it didn't, she might have overlooked the girl entirely… for the second time today, she recalled. Guess Mismagius was in on the conspiracy, then. One mystery solved. Which led to the next question: Why _this one_? Aya searched for the purpose, but was finding herself at a loss. The thought of this girl being the answer to Yaksha's warlord crisis, even in hypothetical terms, was insulting. Nothing significant about this girl could be ascertained by her appearance alone. Not her personality, not her values, not her leadership skills. The one exception was her weakness, unable to be hidden even under dark hoods and studded leather boots. Weakness in warriors was irredeemable in Aya's eyes, and a weak warlord was the last thing a struggling kingdom like Yaksha needed right now. It was a thought she wouldn't entertain, even as a sick joke.

Thinking back to her dream left Aya with another bewildering prospect, one that equally unnerved her. If this is what had called her to Yaksha, in the midst of such a crisis, then she was about to gain further experience in ignoring fate's cries. This kingdom was rife with suffering now. What possible problems could one young woman have that required special intervention from a woman who lived in another kingdom hundreds of miles apart? What put her struggles above the rest of her kingdom? If this was what Aya had been called here for, then she refused. The needs of Yaksha came before the needs of a single person. And if this girl was so weak, all the better Aya not get involved. Better she find the solution to her problems on her own than depend on the help of another. Whatever this young lady needed, she would have to grow strong and find it on her own. Let fate hold her in contempt, but the Uesugi lady had made her choice.

Yuuki noticed the new arrival, and her greeting for her took on a special tone. "Hey, Mitsubachi!" Satorei brought her full attention to the entrance, the joyful smile on her aging face matching her young employee's enthusiasm.

"Mitsubachi, sweetheart!" she regarded the woman sweetly, "I was hoping you'd stop by today!"

Through the shadows obscuring her face, a bright, beautiful, albeit reserved smile could be seen. "With all the excitement happening in the city, I wasn't about to miss out." Her voice was just what Aya expected. Bashful, soft-spoken. It sounded like she wasn't used to talking very much, and had some difficulty making her voice loud enough to hear. Was everything about this young lady meant to be so… unremarkable?

"Well, don't just stand there, honey." Satorei ordered, "Take a seat, and I'll fix up your usual drink. Dear, get out here! We have an extra special guest that just came!"

Mitsubachi's flushed face was apparent even covered by her shadowy hood. "You don't need to make a fuss for my sake." she muttered, but the comment was lost to everyone but the warlords. And it was then that she noticed the group of four sitting at the bar. Shingen and Kenshin offered her a polite nod, while Ujiyasu stared. Aya smiled, a gesture that seemed innocent enough, but hid a knowing, almost insidious glint beneath the surface. Mitsubachi looked between them for a moment, appearing uncomfortable dealing with the strangers. Especially with Aya. She lingered on the older woman's smile, recognizing the intentions beneath it. The superiority, the knowledge that this woman had already figured her out and knew every one of her wretched flaws. The blush on her cheeks darkened under that gaze. After an awkward moment of silence, she returned the smile and a bow, with an added, "Hi." mumbled shyly in their direction. She walked around them, going to the farthest seat away at the bar, not once meeting their eyes. Perhaps if she had, she would have recognized them for who they were.

"What's all the fuss about out here?" Daishu then came out with a steaming pot of soup. "Can't a man do his work in peace without… Well, if it isn't Mitsubachi!" he exclaimed, his tone quickly changing. "And just where have you been all this time, young lady?"

Mitsubachi shrugged. "I've been busy." she offered nonchalantly. The paltry excuse didn't sit well with her, so she added on after some thought, "This has been the first time I've been able to break away from everything."

Daishu chuckled, "We've heard that one before. Be careful there, kiddo. You're starting to sound like yo-"

"Alright, alright! Enough smalltalk! She's my friend, people." Yuuki interjected, bouncing in front of Daishu. "We're the ones who need to catch up."

Satorei sighed, but allowed a small grin. "Alright, Yuuki. You can take your break now." she responded flatly. "Just don't cause trouble for the other customers."

"Oh, come on. When do we ever cause trouble?" Yuuki questioned.

"WROOOOOAAARR!"

As Mitsubachi was about to take her seat, down from the ceiling came a blur of violet and orange. Mitsubachi let out a startled cry as a shadowed figure fell onto her back, legs wrapping around her waist and arms around her neck. A clawed glove came up to her neck, positioned at the jugular. Noticing the glove, the hooded girl's expression went from surprised to annoyed quickly. Yuuki snickered, and both the owners sighed in exasperation. The warlords present tensed at the scene but made no move to assist, instinctively aware that something wasn't right about this supposed sneak attack. Sure enough, in a matter of moments Rin relinquished her gauntlet and hopped off her victim.

"Did I scare you?" she asked menacingly. The ninja girl looked up to face her victim, to find Mitsubachi glaring back at her.

 _SMACK!_

"You _idiot!_ The hell's the matter with you, Rin?!" Mitsubachi cried, swatting the shorter woman over the head. All shyness had left her. Her voice had no difficulty carrying through the entire room. Aya found herself surprised. Listening to her before, you would never have guessed her voice could hold so much power. "At what point does prowling around in the shadows and scaring me sound like a good idea? Oh, I know; the part where you give me a heart attack and kill me! That's my favorite part! I can't leave you alone for a month without you becoming a menace to society, can I?!"

As she carried on, Rin visibly shrunk under the magnitude of her scolding, blue eyes growing big and remorseful. Meanwhile, Yuuki kept on laughing behind Mitsubachi. "I'm sorry, sis!" Rin wailed, throwing her arms around her former victim in a bone-crushing hug. "I wasn't trying to kill you! It was just a joke! Please, please, _please_ don't hate me!"

"You know I don't hate you." she groaned out through the strain of her lungs being squeezed. "But really, I can't take any more surprises like that today. As it is, I had a close call this morning, and I had to do _way_ more running than should be necessary for any human today. My heart needs a rest."

Yuuki chuckled, "The festival's barely started, and you're already at your limit?"

Mitsubachi and Rin sat down at the bar, and Yuuki came around to take another seat next to them. "Whoever thought this week-long festival was a good idea is an idiot." she declared, ignoring Rin's look of perplexity and Yuuki's amused snort. "And I'm an idiot for letting you talk me into this, Yuuki. I won't be able to keep up with all this insanity! Total Eclipse is gonna be the death of me…"

"You're not giving out on us now, Mitsubachi." Yuuki encouraged, reaching over Rin to pat her friend's shoulder. "This is gonna be the best week ever, and you're spending it with us! So we need to keep you energized." She turned to her employer. "Hey, Miss Satorei! Let's get this girl a drink, yeah?"

"And some dragon's brew for me while you're at it!" Rin added.

"Already ahead of you, ladies." the owner declared, bringing over three drinks for the trio. "A star burst for you, Yuuki. A dragon's brew for Rin," she held out the drink to the ninja girl, who accepted it with a watering mouth. "but only because my restaurant is still in tact _this time_." Satorei added, causing Rin to glower at her with a less-than-intimidating pout. "And the Mitsubachi special for the sweetest girl in town." she said with a smile and a wink, passing the drink to it's namesake. Her face went immediately red.

"The name I came up with was 'a slow, sweet death'." she mumbled.

"Well, 'the Mitsubachi special' sells better." Daishu told her. "Understandably, people were turned off by a drink with the word 'death' in it. Go figure."

"You're not actually selling something with my name on it, are you?" she asked, embarrassed by the mere thought.

Daishu shot her a reassuring smile. "It's 'the Vespiquen special' to the rest of our customers." he stated.

Mitsubachi didn't seem much more pleased with this answer. "Clever." she grumbled. "Well, that makes three misfits. All we're missing now is Keitatsuo and Zweilous. Either of you seen them today?"

While Satorei was continuing her conversation with the warlords, Kenshin and Ujiyasu overheard as Mitsubachi made this query. They drowned out Aya and Satorei's discussion for a moment to listen to the conversation the three young women were having. Yuuki and Rin looked less than pleased with the turn of the conversation, Rin especially.

"Sorry, don't know." Yuuki shrugged.

"Don't care to know, either." Rin mumbled, hunching over and scowling.

Mitsubachi didn't seem amused. "Come on, guys. I wanted to spend time with _all_ of you this week." Her mouth hung open for a moment, like it had when speaking with Daishu. It suggested that she intended to add onto what had been said. But a moment later, just enough time to give it a second thought, her mouth closed, adding nothing further. The gesture was lost to her friends, but not to Aya.

The ninja mused, "Ugh, do we _really need_ to bring Keitatsuo along? We'll have way more fun if it's just the three of us."

"You're just mad that you lost a battle to him this morning." Yuuki stated, souring the fire warrior's spirits further. She gave an animalistic snort in response. Yuuki raised her hands in defense. "I mean, just being totally fair here."

"So he's on a battling binge already?" Their hooded friend asked, deciding not to ask for details about the specific battle between the two dragon warriors, given Rin's response.

"Other than Rin, I've had two out-of-towners come in here today with their Pokemon, talking about a guy with a Zweilous who mopped the floor with them." The dark haired girl relayed, "I'm betting that he's been at it since the sun got up."

"That sounds like our boys." Mitsubachi agreed. "He must be ecstatic right now. Between Ransei's unification and what happened with Lord Kotaro, there really haven't been that many warriors passing through the kingdom looking for a battle. Maybe Zweilous will evolve."

"Not before Charmeleon, he won't." Rin declared.

Mitsubachi raised an eyebrow, looking over her shoulder. "Hey, where _is_ Charmeleon anyway?" she wondered, noticing the fire lizard's absence for the first time. It seemed that Rin, too, was just becoming aware of this fact.

"Aw, crap!" she realized, "He went outside so that I could surprise you; I forgot to call him back in!"

This didn't seem to be the response Mitsubachi was looking for. "Dude." she muttered, clearly not amused.

"Attention, Dragon's Den patrons!" came a shout from the entrance, drawing all eyes to the source of the commotion.

"Speak of the devil." Yuuki said, rolling her eyes as she saw who it was.

"To the owner of a non-dragon, fire-type Pokemon, your partner was illegally parked outside of the building!" Keitatsuo went on, walking inside. He was joined by his Zweilous, as well as Rin's Charmeleon. The latter was being held haphazardly under his arm, though not looking the least bit irritated with its situation. In fact, he seemed beyond happy as his eyes met with his masked warrior. The same couldn't be said of Rin, who seemed to be struggling to hold back a volcano of rage. Keitatsuo carried on, "Please come to the front to pick up your Pokemon, and pay the required fine of 1,000 poku to the Yaksha soldier currently in possession of your Pokemon!"

" **You'll be the one paying if you don't put down Charmeleon right now!** " Rin screeched through bared teeth.

"Big words from miss pipsqueak across the room." he chuckled, "I'm interested to see you try to back them up." This looked to be the breaking point for the ninja girl's patience, as she bolted to her feet and made to lunge at the boy. In response to this quick reaction driven by impulse and fury, Mitsubachi sighed and calmly reached up to grab the back of her robes and gently bring her friend back to her sitting position. Though Rin had well beyond ten times the taller girl's strength, Aya noted how she acquiesced with no resistance. Being pacified didn't stop her from glaring death at the man, who returned the glower with a smug smirk.

"Nothing?" he asked, "Well, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let you off with a warning this time-"

"Would you just shut up and get your ass inside already, Keitatsuo?! Ya good for nothing punk!" Daishu snapped finally, "You're gonna scare off all our customers, loitering in the door like that."

"Pft. _What_ customers?" the young man snorted, looking around the sparse building. "It's the middle of the day; your rush hour's not for another three hours or so." He set Charmeleon onto the ground, giving a quick pat to its head. "She's all yours, buddy." he said before letting the fire lizard go. It wasted no time charging back to its partner (leaving a path of destruction behind once more). She promptly scooped him up and set him into her lap, where he affectionately licked the exposed half of her face. Yuuki and Mitsubachi flinched away a bit as its flame-tipped tail began to wag and embers came close to them.

The young warrior and his Pokemon sauntered inside, all eyes falling on the new arrival, particularly three masked warlords who recalled their prior encounter with the lad earlier. Seemed that Keitatsuo recognized them as well. Despite this, he walked past them without incident, making his way to the three ladies on the other side.

"Hi, Keitatsuo." Mitsubachi greeted with a friendly smile, "Good to see you."

"Glad to know someone here is." he replied.

"Go to hell." Rin breathed hotly, snuggling Charmeleon closer.

"So where've you been hiding?" the hooded girl asked, her tone playful and smile bright.

Keitatsuo laughed, taking on an attitude similar. "That's my question." he rebutted, "You're the one who thinks it's okay to disappear for three months and leave me alone with these two." he waved a hand between Yuuki and Rin. "They gang up on me when you're not here, you know."

Yuuki rolled her eyes. "Oh, give me a break." she grumbled.

"Mm, I don't know about that." the hooded girl answered, "From what I heard, you and Zweilous did a number on Rin and Charmeleon this morning."

"Sis!" Rin cried in dismay.

"Oh yeah? You heard about that?" Keitatsuo asked, looking very pleased with both the recognition and the ninja girl's response. Rin growled and slumped over the bar, her nails digging into the surface.

"I got the abridged version, anyway." Mitsubachi responded. "How long did the battle go for?"

The warrior puffed out his chest proudly. "Ninety seconds flat." he reported. "Not bad, huh?" Rin's nails dug further into the wood.

Mitsubachi found the information more amusing, bringing a hand to her mouth and letting out a soft giggle. "What's that? A Keitatsuo battle lasting more than a few seconds?" The smug expression quickly fell from his face, and found its way over to Rin. "Sounds like you're getting soft on me. No wonder these guys are ganging up on you."

Keitatsuo scowled. "Whatever. I still beat the half-pint." he insisted. Rin immediately went back to sulking.

"Eat dragon claw." his former opponent huffed as he walked around her. He stopped and towered over her, barking out a laugh in response to the threat.

"Dragon claw, huh? I thought only _dragon-types_ could learn that move." This little remark clearly touched a nerve with his opponent, who immediately turned and lunged at him.

" **I AM A DRAGON!** " she screeched, flailing her fists around like mad. Her adversary merely smirked and held her at arm's length.

Yuuki watched their squabble with amusement, and Mitsubachi sighed. "Bad dragons; no fighting!" she scolded, glancing over her shoulder. Charmeleon and Zweilous, mostly ignorant to their partners' battle, were greeting each other happily like the friends that they were. "You two could stand to learn something from your Pokemon." The curt remark was all Keitatsuo needed to break contact with Rin, whom he had pulled into a headlock. This didn't keep her from angling her arm to repeatedly punch his left arm and bite down on his right. When he relinquished her, Rin gave up the fight as well.

"I'm good. I think she learned her lesson." Keitatsuo chuckled, moving to take the free spot next to Mitsubachi. Not before Rin could land a final jab to his back. "That ought to give you an idea of what happened earlier."

"You two flailed around like a couple of four-year-olds for a minute and a half while your Pokemon sat on the sidelines?" she quipped, "Can't say I'm disappointed about missing that one."

"To be fair, it was the best fight I've had today." he relented, "Second longest battle lasted about… I'd say 50 seconds or so."

"Who does that honor go to?"

"You're not gonna believe this, but some older guy with a Carnivine. Weapon of choice was a broadsword. Really knew his stuff. Still beat him, but damn."

"What's a Carnivine?" Mitsubachi asked.

"Grass-type. Bulbous green thing with a bunch of vines hanging off it. Big, round eyes and long, sharp teeth." As he described the Pokemon to her, Mitsubachi went to her bag, rummaging through it and pulling out a stack of papers, and a brush and ink. Swiftly, she began writing notes in some form of shorthand.

"Ooh!"

"It's not as cool as it sounds." he assured her.

"Alright then, what _was_ cool?"

"Uh… let's see… There was that guy with a Metang, which is a steel-type Pokemon. That was like my quickest battle of the day, but I've heard Metang are really, really rare. So that was kind of cool. There was that Darmanitan that was _insane_. Managed to knock the wind out of Zweilous at one point."

"Hey, Charmeleon and I battled them. Yeah, they were super strong!" Rin interjected, "The man said he was from Dragnor, you know."

"That's not surprising." Keitatsuo said, "You think he was a part of Lord Nobunaga's army?"

"Wouldn't surprise me."

"So that was awesome- oh, right. Fire-type, Mitsubachi. Big, red, massive fists, and crazy eyes. Oh, you're gonna love this! There was a woman with a _Dusclops,_ a _ghost-type_!"

"I definitely know that one." Mitsubachi answered with a wide smile. "Did you fight them?"

"Nah; it wouldn't have been much of a challenge for Zweilous to fight a ghost-type. And the girl wasn't much for battles; I could tell just by looking at her. Zweilous took an icicle crush head-on from a Beartic a little while ago."

"You fought a _Beartic_?!" Mitsubachi exclaimed, "Aren't dragons weak to ice attacks?"

Keitatsuo shrugged. "You can't expect to get stronger if you're always fighting with an advantage. Not that the guy was much of a challenge either. Zweilous didn't even flinch, right, buddy?" the two-headed dragon growled in agreement, moving both heads around to show that he had taken no serious damage.

"Actually, speaking of strong opponents, I ran into those guys after the Beartic fight." he mentioned, pointing over to the group of masked warriors at the other end of the bar. "Yeah, don't think I don't recognize you with those masks on. I'm still expecting a battle with you and your Pokemon!" Ujiyasu turned, prepared to tell the kid off again, but the hooded girl beat him to it.

"Don't go picking fights with people in a bar." she scolded him. She turned to the group of warlords, clearly embarrassed by her disruptive friend. "Sorry! Just ignore him, and we'll be sure to keep him on a tight leash." she promised.

"I don't need a guardian, Mitsubachi." he grumbled, though her scolding seemed to have worked. Whether by guilt for his words, or respect for the woman next to him, he did not attempt any further instigation with the four. "What's the point of being a warrior if you don't fight alongside your Pokemon?" the dragon warrior snapped.

"You just worry about yourself and Zweilous, and let other warriors and their Pokemon decide that for themselves." she responded, "Personally, if I were a warrior, I wouldn't want the bond I shared with my partner to be measured by the number of battles we fight."

Keitatsuo scoffed. "There's no better test of a warrior's link than a battle. You'd know that if you were one."

"Don't be rude to my sis!" Rin snapped.

"I'm just being honest."

"I know that's how it is." Mitsubachi agreed, "But it's not _all_ there is to your bonds. I mean, you can't tell me that Zweilous is nothing more than a weapon to you."

"I wouldn't say that, no." he answered, "But we _did_ form our link through fighting. You can't expect to bond with a dragon-type Pokemon unless you're strong enough to earn its respect." Zweilous growled and stomped its feet. Its partner laughed at the gesture. "See? He agrees with me."

The hooded girl sighed. "Alright then; what do I know, I guess." she mumbled in consent.

"You're not wrong, sis; not at all." Rin assured her, "Keitatsuo's just weird."

"That's funny coming from you, char-brain." he rebutted, "You're the weirdo who traveled all the way to Ignis and lived among a herd of wild Charmander for two weeks until you found one crazy enough to link with you."

Rin scowled. "Charmeleon _isn't_ crazy. Our link was formed because he saw past my human guise and recognized me for who I truly am!"

Daishu rolled his eyes. "Oh, here we go again…" he muttered.

"He looked into my eyes, and knew that I was once a mighty Charizard! In another life, I ruled the skies above with my dragon brethren. Cruel fate deigned that I fall to earth and be reborn in this lesser form. But one day…" she stood on her seat, placing one foot on the bar, raising a fist in glorious determination. "One day, Charmeleon and I together shall fulfill our sacred destiny, and ascend ourselves to the heavens, Charizards once more!" Charmeleon jumped up with this declaration and growled triumphantly beside her. The entire room went silent, those that had heard this story before just as baffled as the first time they had heard it, and the warlords who had not unsure how to even respond to such a ludicrous thing.

"Rin… I'm going to cut you off for the rest of the day, honey…" Satorei said, tentatively reaching for the ninja's drink and taking it away from her.

"And get down from my bar, ya lunatic." Daishu added, "You break it, you're paying for it." The self-proclaimed dragon girl carried out these orders with a clear pout, dejected by the less-than-impressive response from the rest.

From there, the four friends' conversation turned to far less interesting topics. On and off, Aya would tune in, overhearing ordinary stories. Yuuki spoke zealously about the festival, and customers that had come in from all across Ransei. She talked about many other friends she had run into that day, and a bit about her family. Of the four, she was the most animated and talkative. The young man in their group discussed and boasted about various warriors he had triumphed over. Rin would occasionally chime in with her own stories of battles, usually to one-up her fellow dragon warrior. Sometimes her rival bickered and competed with her, other times, he sought to impress the hooded girl he sat next to. Both warriors only seemed to be interested in speaking when it involved battles. The only exception to this was when Rin brought out a journal of her own and swapped it with Mitsubachi's. Aya half-listened as the two ladies critiqued one another's creative works. When asked, Yuuki noted that she had left the new poems she had written at home. It seemed that art connected the group of four, as Mitsubachi chided Keitatsuo for not using his own talent enough. He dismissed the comment with a lack of interest, stating a greater desire for battles. Apart from reviewing Rin's apparently extensive collection of dragon illustrations, Mitsubachi spoke very little. She listened with a contented grin as her three friends talked and bickered and joked. She gave an occasional chuckle, and little else. Yet she seemed happy in doing so, her demeanor so different from when she had first walked in.

"Hey, sis?" Rin asked, pushing Mitsubachi's journal back over to her and pointing at one of the pages. "Is that what I think it is?"

Keitatsuo glanced down at the journal, and his eyebrows raised. "Whoa." he muttered, leaning over the hooded girl's shoulder slightly to get a better look. "Did you draw all of these today?" he asked as he slid the book between the two of them.

"Er, yeah. Before I made my way over here." she confirmed, "I mean, they're not the best; I had to work off memory alone."

"What's up?" Yuuki queried, getting up and standing behind Mitsubachi and Keitatsuo.

"Th-they're just some quick sketches…" she insisted meekly.

"Of some crazy rare Pokemon!" the man next to her remarked. "Crobat, Gallade, Dragonair…"

"Uh, actually, that one's supposed to be a Serperior." she offered, tone clearly expressing embarrassment towards the lackluster sketch.

" _Seriously_ _?_ "

"I'm… pretty sure?" she offered.

"Holy _hell_." He uttered, eyes glancing to another illustration, one that appeared to be the most accurate to its model. "And that… that's a freaking Froslass." It was this observation that caught Aya's attention, and brought her focus back to the teens' conversation. She could almost hear her mother's voice in the back of her head telling her to be quiet and pay attention.

Mitsubachi's eyes lit up. "I know. Gorgeous, right? I don't think I did her nearly enough justice."

"You saw all of these _today?_ " he asked. She nodded. "Well, shit. All this time, I've been fighting in the wrong part of town. How'd you get lucky enough to see all these powerhouses?"

"I'm keeping that to myself." she declared, snatching the book away and closing it shut. "I don't want you causing trouble for anyone."

"Were they any good?" he asked.

She laughed, a reaction she couldn't hold back. "The best."

"Then Zweilous and I _have_ to fight them." he insisted. "C'mon, I'll owe you big time. This week might be the last chance in a while that we get to fight truly strong opponents."

A pause. An exasperated sigh. "I'm only telling you this because I know they're gonna be here for a while and you're bound to see them anyway." she groaned, "You guys need to promise me that you won't freak out, though."

"Promise" the three each said with a nod.

"I'm so gonna regret this." she sighed, but began her story nonetheless. She kept her voice low, wanting their conversation to be as private as possible. It hardly mattered; their conversation had already earned the attention of four people. The last people she would want to hear her story. "I ended up sleeping at the castle last night."

"You did _what_?" Keitatsuo sputtered, seeming aghast by this proclamation.

"Sis, that's insane!" Rin exclaimed. "The castle was barely safe when the Fuma were in charge. That place is probably some gang's hangout now, or a cover for Yaksha's underground."

Mitsubachi shook her head. "I think the traps are still active in there. I got in the way Lord Kotaro showed me." she assured her worrying friends. "Aside from some wild Pokemon, it's abandoned. Well, it was last night, anyway. I got some guests this morning."

"Did you get attacked?" Rin asked, clutching the top of the bar anxiously.

"Nah, I used the old ninja passages to sneak out; I'm pretty sure I got away undetected. They were busy having a conference."

"Conference?" the ninja asked, "Oh boy, they must have been part of The Underground."

"Uh… no, no. They weren't. Kind of the opposite, actually."

"Ugh, was it the _nobles_?" Keitatsuo asked, nose scrunched in disgust. "There's been rumors that Seiryu and the rest of them are setting up to take control of the kingdom, starting with the castle."

Mitsubachi scoffed, "No, it wasn't Lord "holier than thou' Seiryu, or the rest of the 'aristocracy.' It, ah…" Another pause. Another long groan. "Okay. A group of _seventeen_." the last word was mumbled as quietly as she could. It seemed that her friends had already caught on in spite of this, eyes wide and mouths agape. "With their Pokemon."

"No flipping way." Rin uttered.

"There was a Gallade…"

"Shut the _hell_ up." Keitatsuo whispered.

"A Rhyperior…"

A jaw-breaking smile bloomed on his face, and he shook in his seat. "It's the _warlords._ " the words were filled with an out-of-place giddiness, uttered so low they almost couldn't be heard.

"An Umbreon-"

" _ **YEAH**_ _ **!**_ " Keitatsuo roared, slamming his fist on the tabletop, much to Mitsubachi's fright. Her entire body tensed at her companion's over-the-top reaction, looking much like a Meowth with its hair standing on end.

"Shhhh-shh-shh! What the _hell_ , man?!" she growled, "Good job not freaking out!"

" _Finally._ " he carried on, ignoring her scowl of disapproval. His voice rumbled with fierce determination. "This is the chance I've been waiting for; the ultimate test of my might! An opportunity to battle the greatest warriors in all of _Ransei!_ A chance to _conquer_ the greatest warriors in Ransei!"

"What's he on about?" Daishu asked, glancing over at the young man with a tired scowl.

Mitsubachi responded, "Just the usual delusions of grandeur." she insisted with a hand wave. It was enough for the owner to shrug and resume his cleaning behind the bar.

"Come on, Mitsubachi. We count on you to keep those two in check. You're these hooligans' big sister, after all."

"I'm two years older than her, Daishu!" Rin huffed.

"And two feet shorter." Keitatsuo sniggered.

"What was that?!"

"Alright; cool off, the both of you." Mitsubachi interjected, proceeding to slap both of them in the back of their heads. She went a bit rougher on Keitatsuo for his earlier outburst. "I hope you learned something from this."

"That you hit like a five-year-old?" Keitatsuo suggested. She looked annoyed, but didn't bother to rebut the comment. There were more important things to say.

"If you want me to spill, I'd refrain from the outbursts." she insisted, bringing their conversation back to a lower volume.

"What more is there to say?" Yuuki asked.

"It's not all of them, and I don't just mean that Lord Kotaro isn't there."

"You said there were seventeen." Keitatsuo reminded her, looking slightly disappointed. He asked in a voice bordering on desperate, "Was Nobunaga at least there?"

"What about Yukimura Sanada?" Rin queried, "You know, Shingen Takeda's general with the Charizard?"

"Sorry, guys." Keitatsuo went from looking only slightly disappointed to completely crestfallen. Rin looked much the same. "Nobunaga sent a delegate to represent Dragnor, and Lord Shingen was Terrera's only representative. The only kingdoms that had two delegates were Aurora and Illusio. Lord Kenshin was there with his sister."

Keitatsuo raised an eyebrow. "Kenshin Uesugi has a sister?" he asked.

Mitsubachi shrugged. "Apparently. She was the one with the Froslass."

"Huh, weird." he muttered, but didn't seem to give it much more thought. He sighed. "Of all the ones to be absent, it had to be the ultimate badass."

The hooded girl rolled her eyes. "Ah, yes. The man who had his army burn down our city for no reason. Truly, the sort of role model we should all aspire to be."

"He won. It was his right to do what he wanted with his territory." he justified. "And he rebuilt the city after the battle. Your house was one of the lucky ones that got spared, remember? It's not worth holding a grudge over."

"I don't have a grudge." she corrected him, "I have common sense. We shouldn't praise people who think it's okay to destroy people's lives for their own gain. He didn't _even_ have anything to gain by destroying the city."

"Consolidating his power. Intimidating potential rebels into submission. Rebuilding his new territory's capital to better represent Dragnor's ideals. It's fairly standard warfare tactics." he explained.

"He _didn't_ rebuild the city, though. That was _us_ , that was Yaksha."

"But he provided the resources."

"Because that makes it okay." she snorted, "Speaking of which, I saw Lord Ujiyasu. He's okay, in case any of you were wondering."

"I've been telling you all along he was fine." he responded, "Out of everyone I know, you were the only one who was worried about the old man."

"It was Lord Ujiyasu that gave my parents the money they needed to build… to build the house." Mitsubachi blurted out, before Keitatsuo was able to get in another word. That seemed to kill whatever snide remark he was about to make. He wasn't the only one that stopped cold. The very man, hidden beneath the Terrakion mask, found himself frozen, incredulous. He could feel the eyes of the other three glancing his way questioningly, but he could care less at the moment.

 _Well, I'll be damned._ He thought, _It's Kurokami's daughter after all._ He tried to turn his head just enough to get a better look at the girl. That kid would have been about eighteen by now. The young woman he saw appeared as though she could be in her mid-twenties, and looked nothing like the daughter of a well-to-do family. She was worn, beaten down, tired. Maybe it was just the shadows obscuring her face, a trick of the light. And hell, he'd only seen the kid a handful of times, anyway. Did he really have the right to analyze her and assume the worst? No, but the thought still lingered that this scenario was just too familiar to him. The Uesugi had been a respectable, normal family by outward appearances as well. To this day, he'd heard not a word from Kenshin or even Aya about their father. Though he was long dead, both continued to hold their silence rather than expose him for the monster that he had been. Ujiyasu was reluctant to believe that Mako Kurokami could be such a monster. That man would do anything for his family. So why was his daughter wandering around the city unattended, wearing torn, ratty clothes, sneaking into the abandoned castle, and hanging around these punks? Maybe she was going through a rebellious phase, got involved with the wrong crowd. It was natural, especially for someone her age. Yet he felt his stomach turn with guilt as he remembered how he had thought the same things about Aya before he had learned the truth.

Damn, this was going to haunt him… but no. They were here to help the entire kingdom, not just one family, one girl. It wasn't his place to get involved with a family's private affairs. This wasn't a small child unable to defend themselves. This was an adult woman, able to make her own decisions. If she was in a bad situation, she had the ability to leave it.

How many times had Aya and Kenshin run away, just to end up returning?

What would it hurt to take a short trip to Kurokami House, catch up with an acquaintance from the old days? If they were looking to fix the kingdom anyway, it would be a great boon to have the support of the place some referred to as 'The Castle of the People.' If something was amiss, he'd be able to see it for himself. If there was nothing, he could put these worries to rest and focus exclusively on the work of repairing this kingdom.

"I mean, yeah, sure." Keitatsuo finally replied, seeming uncertain of how to go about this, "But can you really still say that house was a blessing?"

"The dream that made that place a reality still counts." she stated firmly. "Just like the dream that made the entire kingdom, and even all of Ransei a reality. The warlords are _here_ , guys. They came _here_. That means they believe after everything Yaksha's been through, we can be salvaged. That means they still believe that this kingdom's dream still counts. If they still have faith in a big dream like that, then maybe there's still hope for a small dream like the one my parents had for the house."

Keitatsuo groaned, running a hand over his face. " _Geez_ , Mitsubachi. You are _way too_ optimistic. It's so depressing."

"Come on, Keitatsuo!" Yuuki scolded him, "Are you really gonna tell her not to have hope that things will get better? What kind of friend would do that?"

"You come on!" he snapped. "This is _Yaksha_. Things never change around here. It's not just her life, it's everything. Yuuki, you haven't shut up all month about how this festival is going to change _everything_. Ya know what's gonna happen? Some teenagers are gonna party for seven days, the tourists are gonna spend money, tear the city apart, then everyone's gonna go home. What do you think? Tsukikage's gonna go on stage, sing a song, and people are gonna start magically giving a shit about each other? It's been three months since Kotaro disappeared. Where the hell have the warlords been in all that time? They obviously don't give a shit about us."

"They're here now, aren't they?" Mitsubachi stated.

He snorted, "Probably to divide up the kingdom and decide who gets what. I bet the capital's gonna end up part of Cragspur. 100 poku says I'm right! If there's a fight for it, though, I've got 300 on Lord Shingen!"

Mitsubachi frowned, "They're not trying to kill the kingdom. They're holding a conference to decide on a new warlord."

"Then my money's still on Lord Shingen."

"Wouldn't the territory just fall back to the Hojo?" Yuuki asked, "Lord Ujiyasu was warlord before Nobunaga came in."

"There was concern that one warlord with two kingdoms would have too much power." Mitsubachi explained. "They were even reluctant to consider generals with experience as delegates because they could be influenced to serve in their warlord's best interest."

"The Aurora twins aren't gonna take charge?" Keitatsuo asked, "They're the idiots who gave Yaksha to Kotaro in the first place. You'd think they'd want to clean up their mess."

Mitsubachi scowled, "After the battle in Dragnor, they just returned the kingdoms to the warlords they had originally taken them from. Your 'ultimate badass' Nobunaga was actually 'the idiot who gave Yaksha to Lord Kotaro in the first place.' If anyone should take the blame for this it's him. Even then, it's not right to blame him for Kotaro taking off. No one told him to do that. He just did it."

"It was still a stupid move to return the eastern kingdoms to Nobunaga's generals. All those kingdoms conquered just to be returned to the enemy in the end. What's even the point?"

"A gesture of good faith. A call to put aside the past and walk towards a future where the seventeen kingdoms are in harmony." she said without a moment's thought. She turned to her cynical friend and grinned. "Fairly standard peace tactics, you could say."

"I call it lip service." he insisted, "Aurora's warlords united Ransei under their banner, and now all the kingdoms are under their control. None of the other warlords have any real power now. If they do something that Aurora doesn't approve of, Aurora's gonna go in and reverse it."

"That's not what I saw. That room had the leaders of sixteen different kingdoms gathered around one table as equals. I'm not gonna say it was complete peace or anything. There was definitely a major clashing of egos."

"Of course." Rin remarked.

"But I don't think that was the result of some selfish desire for control or power. Apart from maybe one or two warlords, it truly felt like everyone was trying to figure out what was best for Yaksha. I mean, there was so much that they took into account, stuff that I never would have thought about. They remembered the ninjas. They remembered that this was the kingdom of dark Pokemon. They're trying to find someone able to represent every aspect of this kingdom equally."

"And the verdict?" Keitatsuo asked.

"Still deciding."

He scoffed. "Great. That bureaucratic BS that's gonna go around in circles and end up accomplishing nothing. That was the nice thing about being in Lord Kotaro's army. We didn't have to sit around waiting for a group of high and mighty generals and officers to give us orders. The only thing I needed to do was attack whatever was in my way."

"Is it any wonder Yaksha got claimed by Aurora's army with strategy like that?" Rin snickered.

"I'm not gonna hear anything about strategy coming from you." he snipped, "And it wasn't a lack of strategy that cost Yaksha that battle. You know why we lost to Aurora? That 110 percent _bullshit roulette_ that Lord Kotaro came up with! Some ninja trick that teleported people at random in the middle of battle. I was barely able to land a hit on any opponent because I kept getting warped round the battlefield! Why have a trap that can backfire on your own army so easily?! I _swear_ , I was an inch away from the enemy's second-in-command at one point, only to get warped to the other side of the battlefield."

"That's Kotaro for you." Mitsubachi noted. "He never cared about winning or losing; just wanted to screw with as many people as possible."

"I should've gone over to Dragnor's army…" he mumbled.

"Nothing was stopping you." Rin remarked.

He explained, "I wanted to make my claim as the strongest warrior in Yaksha before I made my way to Dragnor. That's still the case."

"Well, the festival's likely to bring in some of the toughest warriors across Ransei, not just the warlords." Mitsubachi speculated, "I don't think you'll have a better chance to prove you're the best."

He smirked. "You trying to get rid of me, too?"

She returned the smile and a light chuckle. "No, of course not. It just feels like now is the perfect time for you to make good on your plans to leave Yaksha, and become the best in Ransei. There's nothing to hold you back, you know?"

"Yeah… I guess so." he agreed, his brazen persona slipping for a moment. It returned quickly with a tight sneer. "Just don't miss me too much when I'm gone, y'know? I know I'm irreplaceable and all, but you'll be alright without me."

Yuuki grimaced, "I don't see any of us having trouble."

"Just do me a favor and stay away from the warlords, okay?" Mitsubachi pleaded at her warrior friend.

"Why the hell would I do that?" he asked incredulously.

"They're here to help Yaksha recover from Kotaro's disappearance. They've got an important job to do, and I doubt they'd want some random kid in their face demanding a battle from them. As it is, bringing in a new warrior is going to be an uphill battle. They don't need any added conflict, even a small one."

"What are you expecting to happen?" Rin asked.

"Well, you know the second Seiryu finds out the warlords from every single kingdom are here, he's going to try wrapping his greasy little hands around their necks. He and Kinshini are going to hit them with their poisonous conspiracies, try to convince them that Yaksha's 'corrupted by immorality and evil', and they're 'the saving light to cleanse us'."

"What a load of crap!" Keitatsuo barked. "No one with a functioning brain would buy that."

"And yet people still listen." she reminded her friends. "We wouldn't be talking about it right now if there weren't people out there who took it seriously."

"The warlords won't listen to them; one look at the city is all you need to know the nobles aren't lifting a finger to help anyone." Yuuki declared.

"Ehh… it depends…" Mitsubachi contemplated, cringing as a thought suddenly crossed her mind. "Let me sell this to you, _my great and honorable Lord Keitatsuo!_ " Her voice suddenly took on a very posh, flamboyant dialect. Her voice carried further as it seemed to gain strength. She sounded nothing like herself at all, even to the ears of her closest friends. " _Oh_ , what a bittersweet _tragedy_ , to have you and your _esteemed_ warlord comrades _grace_ us with your _glory_ at our _darkest hour_!" She accented her speech with various hand gestures and arm flails, bringing one arm to her brow as though she would faint. "What _shame_ it brings me, a _lady_ of one of the _oldest noble families_ of our _great kingdom_ , to have you bear witness to our Yaksha, _decimated_ by vandals and deviants! We nobles have _endeavored_ to preserve order in the kingdom, _but alas_ , the hearts of the people have been corrupted by a _demon_. A vile rogue named _Tsukikage_! She is a _repugnant anarchist_ who calls the _poor, vulnerable youth_ to acts of _crime_ and _debauchery_! The things she sings about! Slandering authority, defying the law, enticing youths to rebel against their elders! It's _scandalous_! It is surely this siren and her music that has corrupted the _fragile minds_ of the _commoners_ , too _stupid_ to think for themselves! You must put a stop to her at once, and bring order back to this forsaken kingdom! _We beg of you_!"

"Yeah, right!" Yuuki scoffed, "There isn't a single person in Yaksha City who wouldn't defend Tsukikage. Any person the warlords speak to would tell them she's a hero."

"And she's far more respected than those old geezers up in the Kizoku District." Rin added.

Keitatsuo continued, eyes gleaming at Mitsubachi, "And she's _crazy hot._ " This statement earned him a sharp flick to his ear from the hooded girl, and a skin-melting glower from Rin.

"You need to stop saying that garbage." Mitsubachi scolded.

"Hey, I can't help it if I think she's got a nice-"

"I mean _all_ of you." she specified, glancing down towards Rin and Yuuki. "That was all I heard on the way over here was 'Tsukikage.' 'Tsukikage's a hero; Tsukikage's revived the city.' 'She's so wonderful.' It's starting to get out of hand."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with that." Yuuki cut in, "People really like her, that's all."

"People _worship_ her!" Mitsubachi corrected, "Everyone's calling this 'Tsukikage's Festival'. But what did she do to make any of this happen, really? She suggested that Yaksha City put on this festival, and then she disappeared like she always does. Everyone in the city came together, sacrificed their time and effort to make this happen, but I bet she didn't come around once to lift a finger to help. Did she? And yet they're calling this her festival. We were supposed to be celebrating this kingdom and its people, but instead we're celebrating some glorified entertainer. This should be Yakhsa's victory."

"But the problem isn't Tsukikage, is it?" Keitatsuo observed. "'Cause you love her just as much as everyone else."

"Uh, no. I _don't_." she insisted as her warrior friend helped himself to another drink, "I really don't."

"You're not mad at her, though. What's got you so upset is that you wanted to be here, and you couldn't. Don't deny it!" he added quickly as he saw her attempt to protest, "It's the same every time something important happens in town, and you're locked up in that house that's apparently been _such a blessing._ "

"Okay, _yes_ ; that's definitely a part of it-!" she conceded, that conflicted look appearing on her face once more.

"Eh don't worry about it." he chided with a hand wave, "You're not the only one who was a lazy good-for-nothing this month. I didn't lift a finger to help out either, so there you go."

Yuuki scoffed. "Oh, really? So I guess it _wasn't_ you that I saw building the stage every day for the past four weeks. Well, I guess there's plenty of other warriors in Yaksha with a Zweilous for a partner."

"Hey, genius, I'm trying to make her feel better." he snapped back, though the tinge of red on his face belied some embarrassment of having been caught.

Mitsubachi looked over to her warrior friend, taken aback by this revelation. "Keitatsuo… _you_ were helping set up Total Eclipse?" she wondered, "You told me that you thought it was a stupid idea."

He sighed, directing his gaze over to the wall as he tried to ignore the smirks from Rin and Yuuki. "I stand by that." he assured her, "But I figured… y'know… You wanted to be here to help out, and you couldn't. I wanted nothing to do with it. So, I figured to balance things out, I'd pitch in and do the work that you would've done if you'd been here. It's like, that yin and yang balance crap, right?"

"Tell her about the necklace." Yuuki chimed in with a snicker.

"Sod off, trying to embarrass me!" he commanded, before adding, "It's an _amulet_ , by the way." As he grumbled through this explanation, he pulled a necklace out from underneath his robes. A somewhat cheap metal medallion, decorated with a symbol of a crescent moon, and a generic image of a dragon. "Even wore your amulet the entire time, so it was basically like you were there instead of me. I'm assuming that's what those giggling ghosts over there are trying to get me to say." He gestured to the two girls egging him on, true to his word snorting behind their hands. "So, there you go. I helped out in your name, it's like you were there the whole time, so you've got no reason to be down about it." Keitatsuo stated quickly, willing away the rouge in his face with determination, and angry scowl and a well-placed hand covering part of his face.

Mitsubachi stared down at the necklace dangling from his clenched fist, a gift she had given him a few years back. She had one similar tucked away in her room back home. She glanced up from it to her friend's face. It was obvious he wasn't making anything up. A smile bloomed to life on her face, lighting up her eyes.

"But he shouldn't take _all_ the credit, after all." Yuuki said, prompting Mitsubachi to turn to her other two best friends. "Rin and I were working twice as hard for you as well. We're not ashamed to admit it, either."

"Shut up." the young man barked, indulging in another drink.

"You too, Rin?" the hooded girl asked, understanding that she had also been skeptical about the festival. Her masked friend grinned.

"You're my sister. I'm gonna support you no matter what." she assured her. From behind them, Zweilous and Charmeleon both growled in support for their warriors and their hooded friend.

Suddenly, Mitsubachi stood up, and began packing her things back into her bag.

"Sis?" Rin asked.

"What's up?" Yuuki asked.

Keitatsuo scoffed. "See, this is why I didn't want to say anything. She gets all emotional when people go out of their way for her."

"No, it's not that." she insisted, though her voice cracked slightly, "You guys doing that is what this festival _should_ be about. That's the Yaksha spirit that I want to shine through." She smiled. "But we've got to get going. I want to spend this entire week with you all, and that's exactly what we're going to do. Let's get out there and see what Yaksha's capable of."

Her friends all glanced between one another and acquiesced with neutral shrugs before standing up from their own seats.

"Okay, sounds good." Rin agreed.

"I'm cool with whatever you guys want." Keitatsuo muttered.

Yuuki and Mitsubachi both downed what was left of their drinks. Yuuki quickly got her employer's consent to leave early, and the four friends left the bar, making plans for the week as they went. The eyes of the Uesugi Lady trailed them as they left.

A young man obsessed with battles, desiring to be the strongest warrior in Ransei, rivals with a masked warrior who claims to be reincarnated from a mighty dragon. Both share a close relationship with a young woman that puts them further at odds with one another. A young woman who, while not as powerful as either of them, is able to reign them both in, and set their sights on a common goal to put their strengths towards. A young woman who wears her love for her kingdom on her sleeve, yet meekly hides from some deep pain beneath a long hooded robes. Another more sociable young woman who brings the group together through food and drink and song, though occasionally butts heads with them as well. A group comprised of three women and one young man. The young man, gruff and cynical. The masked warrior, brooding and unsociable. The dark-haired young woman, charismatic and optimistic.

The hooded girl, quiet, yet passionate. She had been the one that Aya had focused most of her attention on. With all the signs pointing her way, she was impossible to ignore. But when Aya looked at the group as a whole, she was surprised to see even more parallels pop up. It wasn't a perfect mirror image, but she couldn't deny watching the four friends felt like déjà vu. As though she was staring twenty or thirty years into the past, gazing fondly at a group of young, ambitious warriors that would go on to become some of the greatest warlords in Ransei's history… and a young woman who didn't quite fit into the picture with the others. This was the part that perplexed her. The girl Yuuki wasn't a warrior herself, so that would be problematic. Keitatsuo and Rin were both rough around the edges, but there was clear potential in both of them to be fine warlords. So why did fate see it fit to point her towards the clear Aya of this group, who wasn't even a warrior on top of that? Her passion was clear, certainly, but love for one's kingdom could only carry a warlord so far. It was why Aya herself had always been better suited to a support role in Illusio's army. Kenshin had the strength and military genius needed to properly rule their kingdom, while she offered a gentle push when needed to make sure he kept Illusio on the right path. A girl that frail and meek. Put her on Yaksha's throne as she was now, and she would crumple to dust. With training and the right guidance, that love for her kingdom could do great things. But that would take time. Years, potentially _decades_ , and time was something Yaksha didn't have.

But strength wasn't the only sign of a great warrior, Aya reminded herself. For what it was worth, the girl had shown a fair amount of positive traits. She was clearly smart, well-spoken, empathetic, loyal. As quiet as she was, she had made it clear that she could roar when needed (that was a trait that actually reminded her of Ryo a small bit). Though that was with friends. Could she call forth that same power in the face of strangers, especially enemies? Could she hold her head up to any of the warlords? No, she didn't have the courage for that. It was as she already knew. Mitsubachi wasn't the solution to Yaksha's warlord conundrum.

But then _what was the purpose_?! Why had she felt this pull to travel to Yaksha? What was it that forced her to cross paths with this young woman who was so maddeningly familiar to her? She felt a rare twinge of anxiety overcome her, as though her mother's eyes were on her, expectant and patronizing. She mentally sighed, preparing herself for the feeling that was to follow.

 _Whatever you're asking of me, you'll have to be more specific. Yaksha needs a hero right now. I can't be wasting my efforts on a journey without a clear destination. Directions, if you please. No conniving ghosts, no music, no little girls with moonlight dancing in their eyes._

As expected, the twinge returned, though this time it made her stomach turn as though with guilt. Aya knew it wasn't from the alcohol, either. It was the sort of sensation that could only be felt by hearing a parent tell you that they weren't mad, just disappointed.

* * *

Yeah, I suck at writing song lyrics; you don't need to tell me :P

I regret not giving the warlords more screentime in this chapter, especially Aya, but establishing my four characters and the what's happening in Yaksha is more important right now. They'll be in the spotlight next chapter, so everything will work out just fine.

Oh, speaking of next chapter, there's something I wanted to ask you guys last time, but it slipped my mind. Would you be interested in seeing the new characters from Samurai Warriors 4 in this story? Y'know, Koshosho, Nobuyuki, Kojuro? The reason I'm asking is because the next chapter's going to open with a flashback, and certain characters' additions would affect the story for other characters. For example, Ujiyasu's story is vastly different depending on whether or not Hayakawa and his other kids are around. Same goes for Yukimura and Nobuyuki. Now I'm not saying that _every_ SW4 character is going to be included (Kagekatsu and Kagetora in particular would really mess up the storyline if they were around...), but it could be fun to include a few here and there, and they wouldn't hurt too much by just existing. Let me know if you want to see any of them, or if I should keep this strictly to Pokémon Conquest characters only.

As always, I would be happy to get any input to help me improve my writing. I'm not going to make any promises on when the next chapter is arriving, but it shouldn't be as much of a soul-sucking pain as this chapter was. I hope that you enjoyed this long, long overdue chapter of Birth of a Warlord. I hope you enjoyed my characters as well. I'm still intending to get sketches of them up on my deviantart page, so I'll let you know when I finish with those as well. :)

Until then, I bid you all adieu. Farewell 'til next time!


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